Eckerd’s public health minor, coordinated by Miller, is designed to provide a pre-professional background for students interested in careers in public health, medicine, healthcare administration, health education, epidemiology and related fields. The minor requires five courses: Foundations of Public Health, a Statistics course and three approved electives.
Also represented at the fair was the student-run Pre-Health Club, which includes fields such as pre-vet, biomedical research, pre-nursing, pre–physician assistant and pre-med. There are approximately 200 student names in the club mailing list, and the aim is to network, guide and support pre-health students at Eckerd. Lisa Bonner, assistant professor of chemistry, and Denise Flaherty, associate professor of biology, are the faculty advisers.
Pre-Health Club Secretary Emma Rodriguez is a senior from Hillsborough, New Jersey, majoring in international relations and global affairs and minoring in Spanish and public health. She also volunteers at Metro Inclusive Health, a nonprofit organization that provides health and wellness services throughout the Tampa Bay area and had a table at the event.
“I think we got a ton of freshmen and sophomores at the fair,” Emma says. “And that’s great because Metro and many other organizations are offering positions of employment as well as internships and volunteering. After COVID, I think people were exhausted hearing about public health issues. Now people have room to breathe and time to process the idea of not letting that happen again.”