Nearly 10 years ago, Meghna Singh, BA ’23, lost a family friend to suicide. That loss was a catalyst to what has become her life’s work. Singh, who earned a Bachelor of Arts Community and Global Public Health from the University of Michigan School of Public Health, didn’t know it at the time, but the steps she started taking in eighth grade were part of mental health advocacy, a component of public health.
For Sadé Richardson, working for the University of Michigan School of Public Health feels like a full-circle moment. As the director of Strategic Initiatives in the Office of Public Health Practice, she leads some of the influential programs she engaged with as an undergraduate student and later as a Master of Public Health student in the Department of Health Behavior and Health Education.
Erin Wilke had a great job in a state she loved, but she wanted to grow. After completing a bachelor's degree in public health, she started working as a research coordinator within the orthopedic department of the Medical University of South Carolina. She did not want to uproot her life.
Judge Patrick Shannon looks forward to Mondays, when he sees firsthand the spectrum of problems that arise from the current national opioid epidemic. The stories he hears include abuse, neglect, and mental health. Instead of handing out jail sentences, Shannon has helped implement “the public health approach” in offering alternatives to jail time—prevention, intervention, and treatment.
Rachel Jantz has wanted to care for people in her community since she was a child. She discovered in college that she loves data. Public health, specifically epidemiology, brought those loves together for her. As an opioids epidemiologist in Michigan, she works to connect human experiences and data to help people stay healthy.
Growing up, bachelor's student Carmelita Perrien Naccarato was surrounded by the untimely deaths of family members. But their stories became one of the driving forces behind her interest in health. Now at Michigan Public Health, honoring the legacy of those she loves inspires her pursuit of public health.