In This Story
My name is Laura Henderson, and I am an MPH student concentrating in epidemiology and the Treasurer of Graduate Students for Public Health (GSPH).
GSPH is a great way to connect with other students outside of the classroom, especially during the pandemic. GSPH has coached me on time management, available university resources, and opportunities to hear from alums on their experience in public health.
I am interested in infectious diseases and surveillance and would love to work for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the National Institute of Health (NIH), or the World Health Organization (WHO). My advisor, Kelly Beckwith, has played a key role in my success at Mason. I highly recommend that students read her weekly newsletters and follow her on LinkedIn. Through Kelly, I have had the opportunity to become a Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists mentee and a graduate research assistant for the 2021-2022 academic year. My best advice to prospective students would be to put yourself out there and pursue every opportunity you are interested in. Mason has a great network of staff, students, and alum, and every student should take advantage of it.