Like many of my family members, I set out to go to medical school. I entered college with that goal in mind and hardly considered potential alternatives. My parents regarded medicine as the highest achievement; as immigrants from Bangladesh they wanted my sisters and I to accomplish what they themselves could not. However, through exploring different classes, organizations and events on campus, I became aware of the career opportunities that aligned more with my interests than medicine. As a psychology major and public health minor, I found that the two subjects overlap more than I previously imagined. I am interested in pursuing psychology in the future but hope to take a different approach to human behavior through obtaining a MPH. As a precursor, an MPH would prepare me for the various populations I will be working with as a psychologist. I am most interested in public health because of the focus on prevention and awareness, aspects that will be essential working as a mental healthcare professional.

My interest in public health stems from experiencing a discrepancy in health behaviors between those I am surrounded by and minorities and those with lower incomes. I was first immersed in this issue while traveling to Durham, North Carolina on an alternative spring break trip with 20 other students. On our trip, we were exposed to the growing issue of food injustice. We were given a fictitious role and were asked to feed our family based on our daily budget. After traveling to various grocery stores and even a gas station, which is often the only source of food in food deserts, we realized how hard it was to stay in budget and still choose healthy options. It became clear why unhealthy eating habits were so prevalent among those with lower SES. Although we learned of different ways locals were taking action, such as the implementation of community gardens, I wanted to learn how much of an impact this ultimately had on people’s health behavior and to what extent knowledge influenced them.

This field has also interested me after learning about how much of an impact awareness can have. This was evident in my research and clinical experience with autism. I found a research opportunity at the Child Attention and Autism Lab working with Dr. ______. Each week, I spent 8 hours creating stimuli for eye tracking experiments that was used to gather data on gaze allocation of children with autism. I also assisted in gathering and reviewing literature on joint attention and autism knowledge. Throughout the past year, I have gained a better understanding on this disorder and will be able to explore it even further through an independent project. I will be gathering data on circumscribed interests in children with autism and accuracy of parent reports. The lab also brought to my attention the lack of awareness of the etiology of autism in several populations, especially in developing countries.

My experiences studying autism in the lab prompted me to take a different approach to learning more about autism. I interned at the Marcus Autism Center’s Language and Learning Clinic where I worked alongside behavior analysts and clinical specialists in a classroom setting. I was able to observe and assist eight children with autism in developing and improving various social skills. I was directly involved in the interventions that clinical psychologists have implemented for these children with various levels of functioning. Throughout my research in lab and experiences at the autism center, I was able to meet parents of children with autism and learn how important early intervention and awareness is. Although this is specific to autism, awareness and intervention methods can be applicable to various issues of health.

This hands-on experience presented a different perspective of how public health and psychology can intertwine and prompted my interest in pursuing a MPH in Behavioral Science and Health Education. The Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University would allow me to continue studying behavior and developing my skills in the mental health field. I am interested in their partnership with the Marcus Autism Center and hope to participate in the opportunities they offer to public health students. In addition, I hope to work with the Emory Autism Center and utilize the skills I have gained in the principles of applied behavior analysis and knowledge of assessment and intervention procedures. My interest in this field an unique experiences with Emory would make me a valuable candidate for the MPH program at Emory and ultimately prepare me to enter a field in psychology and continue research upon completing my MPH.