The search for her career passion took Mica Blauw from South Africa to a lab in western Michigan and then Ford Motor Company. She finally found what she was looking for in her studies at Michigan Public Health.
“As an epidemiologist, these traditional tools for collecting, organizing, and interpreting data are our bread and butter—What diseases are out there? Who is getting them? Why are they getting sick?” Prevots says. “Public health is all about data in action, and we want to do research that ultimately has an impact on clinical practice and policy.”
I tried being a chemistry major for a couple semesters, but then I failed physics. I tried pre-med, but I met a lot of doctors who didn't seem to enjoy their lives. I finally landed on biology of global health, which was a new major at my university.
I’m passionate about community. I think if you’re not actively investing in the place you’re in and trying to improve it, it will crumble.
I come from a scientific background. I studied biochemistry in undergrad. It helped me see how the human body functions at a micro level.
I double majored in biology and psychology in college. I thought I had to choose—I could either be a biologist or a social scientist. But I realized epidemiology would allow me integrate the two areas, which is what drew me to public health.