Students take the lead with summer programs.
Pitt Public Health students take what they’ve learned in the classroom and apply it to practicums, internships, residencies and other experiential learning opportunities throughout the country and the world. Each summer, two partnerships with local organizations provide practicum experiences that bring students together to solve public health problems in and around the Pittsburgh community. In the Pittsburgh Summer Institute, a longstanding partnership with the Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD), students work alongside other public health professionals.
This year, 10 students from four departments participated in projects ranging from vector control and tracking animal bites to harm reduction, housing policies and fall prevention.
“The opportunity to be connected with like-minded professionals and to think about how you’ll ultimately improve the quality of life of the individuals in this region is extremely important," said acting director of ACHD, Dr. Patrick Dowd, during this year's PSI student showcase on July 27. "To be connected to the people who need your help – that is really the value of public health and that is the value that you brought to us.”
Health policy and management (HPM) students Joey Engelmeier and Miranda Aman tracked mosquitos to help control disease transmission. In addition to learning all about mosquitos in an intensive two-day "Mosquito Academy" and becoming all too familiar with "stink juice," a rank concoction of water, yeast and hay that sits in the sun for two weeks before being ready to attract mosquitos after a blood meal, Aman and Egelmeier learned the extensive degree to which mosquito tracking and control figures in Allegheny County and how work that seems to go unnoticed can be key to population health. “It’s the only way that we can keep track of what’s happening,” said Aman. Engelmeier agreed, saying “You realize that it’s working when people aren’t as concerned.”
“That’s public health!” said alum and ACHD staff Annie Nagy from the audience. “Right, prevention is the best medicine!” Aman added.
Caroline Sefcik, a behavioral and community health sciences (BCHS) student, worked with the deputy director for the Bureau of Food, Housing and Public Policy on projects involving syringe services, housing and community environment.
“It was really helpful to see how each portion fits in with the broader process. In all of our public health classes, we are taught about the socioecological model. Then I saw where these kinds of processes fall in the grand scheme,” Sefcik said. “Hopefully that understanding can also lead to better communication in the future.”
Another practicum opportunity, Bridging the Gaps Pittsburgh, has been connecting students with community organizations for 26 years. Participating Pitt Health Sciences students are matched with a community site, an academic mentor and one or more community mentors working within their project site. In this community health internship program, students experience firsthand the structural and social determinants of health while learning about various populations and working with community organizations to implement needed interventions and public health programs.
Shruti Bhansali, a student in the Department of Human Genetics, worked as a camp counselor with another intern at Dragon’s Den in Homestead where they created a video guide for future counselors, pamphlets for parents, explored barriers for after-school program attendance, and developed a guide for future interns.
“For the first time in my life, I truly realized the trauma children can undergo because of the adversities they experience growing up. It made me want to do much more than this.” Bhansali said about the experience.
At the recovery and wellness center for adults with mental illness People’s Oakland, BCHS student Archishsa Ghosh helped to create a daily score sheet where members can check off activities like brushing their teeth, drinking water and using the fitness room.
“I have a better perspective on holistic care, the value of social interaction, and new appreciation about what recovery and wellness could look like,” Ghosh said about the experience.
In another 2023 project, IDM Student Samantha Ballard developed a low-cost, family cookbook based on group discussions with families at Sojourner House and said, “I've recognized the importance of reflection and listening to the members of your community to provide necessary resources and care for those around you. I will be able to carry the skills that I’ve learned here with me as I continue in my field.”
- Caitlin McCullough