I really enjoy working at the Center and think that it is a great opportunity for MPH students. Here is a list (in no particular order) of why I think that it is great to be a Center GA:
1. Every day, I engage in meaningful work that has the potential to make a difference in my community and beyond. The Center’s mission is to advance health and healthy living for children and families through cutting-edge research, innovative community-based programs, and dissemination of evidence-based practices. The work I do supports efforts to inspire healthier lives for children and their families. As a person pursuing a career in public health, this work motivates and inspires me.
2. The Center’s culture supports a healthy lifestyle. For example, there are motivational posters in the stairwell encouraging taking the stairs over the elevator, Fresh Fruit Fridays available to everyone in the office kitchen, “walking meetings”among staff. Staff members swap workout plans and their favorite smoothie recipes. The Center partners with the Sustainable Food Center to serve as a Farm-to-Work site. Every week, I have the opportunity to order fresh produce from a local farm and have it delivered right to my office. In addition, my co-workers are caring and supportive. I always feel comfortable asking for time off to attend to personal or family needs. My supervisor also understands my academic commitment and allows me to tailor my work schedule around my class schedule.
3. My daily work activities support my academic development. The topics that I explore through GA tasks often align with my coursework. Additionally, the skills I have gained from conducting literature searches and formatting manuscripts will be helpful when I begin working on my own thesis.
4. I am able to earn money to fund my living expenses while I am in school. This is particularly helpful for students who are not Texas residents when they begin school. Working as a GA can help students to establish Texas residency, meaning that they can qualify to pay in-state tuition rather than the pricier out-of-state tuition.
5. Since I began working at the Center, my feeling of connectedness to the UT School of Public Health has increased. Working at the Center means that I can spend more time on campus getting to know the faculty and other students. It is also more likely that I will be on campus and able to attend events and hear guest lectures.
6. The work is interesting to me and supports my professional development. Although I am still a student, working at the Center means that I am already engaging in public health work. I have learned more directly about the research process, grant funding, organization management, and event planning. Eventually, I would like to work in health education. As a GA, I have gotten to teach nutrition classes to middle school students and model active icebreakers for elementary school teachers to take back to their students.
7. Working at the Center is fun. Throughout the year, the Center holds celebrations and team building gatherings for the faculty and staff. These are always lots of fun and a great way to spend time with co-workers outside of the office.
8. My job at the Center has led to new opportunities. For example, I participated in several Michael & Susan Dell Community Collaborative for Child Health meetings and helped to plan the 2015 Physically Active Learning Summit. In addition, I worked briefly with the Active Play-Active Learning Project. These were great experiences that I initially learned about as a result of my work with the Center.
9. The Center is an excellent place to meet other people working in public health. My network has grown considerably as I have connected with many different people working to improve the health of children and their families. As a GA, I have gotten to meet school teachers and administrators, researchers from all over the U.S., individuals working with local health departments or community organizations, and people from many other industries all related to public health.
10. Several of the other students and staff members who I work with at the Center have become some of my closest friends. I am fortunate to work alongside, smart, caring, fun and interesting individuals!
Written by:
Ann Marie Wilke
MPH Candidate, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, School of Public Health, Austin Regional Campus
Graduate Assistant, Michael & Susan Dell Center for Healthy Living
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