Professional Philosophy Statement

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, black infants are more than
twice as likely to die as white infants, and black women are three to four times more likely to die
from pregnancy-related causes than white women. Statistics like these are far too common in
Public Health, whether it be regarding reproductive health, mental health, accessibility to
healthcare, social determinants of health, or the effects of mass incarceration. Adequate
healthcare should be accessible for individuals in this society, but I have observed that it is not.
My goal is to challenge this, and to work in communities that are disproportionately in need.
At a young age, I saw a need for healthcare improvement in my own community. My
grandmother was diagnosed with cancer, substance abuse was prevalent in my extended family,
and I lost an aunt to childbirth. Through these experiences and my intersectionality of being a
black woman, I developed a desire to make a difference in the lives of those in my community
through healthcare and outreach. My desire to pursue a career that works toward creating a more
equitable world is reflective through many of my experiences, and was reaffirmed during my gap
year, when I worked as an AmeriCorps Member in the city of Detroit. Experiences such as this
and my time in Los Angeles working in research at the County Hospital, exposed me to the great
need in underserved communities. They enhanced my communication, social justice, and
leadership skills, but also pushed me to expand on these skills further.
Additionally, I am interested in normalizing conversations about the intersection of social
determinants and outcomes of health. I feel that doing so is necessary to accomplish health
equity. I plan to mitigate the challenges of those with underrepresented identifies in health care.
In my coursework with the School of Public Health, I seek to gain critical analytically and
communication skills upon graduation and to gain the ability to apply relevant multi-evidence
based interventions into my practice and community outreach, while remaining culturally
competent. I would like to work for a community-based organization, an integrated health
system, or a position in higher education that allows me to work directly within community. I
hope my position allows me to engage with individuals on an inter-personal level in order to
make a real change, while inspiring others to do the same.