Promoting and Outreaching to Prospective College Students

Public Health Dawg (PHD)

Tabling at School of Public Health (SPH) Events

I enjoyed greeting students at the SPH Petting Zoo and the first SPH Open House with another Public Health Dawg. Meeting prospective students thinking of a career in the health field that transcends populations is always fun and enlightening.

A key learning experience for me is being a Public Health Dawg during my junior and senior years at University of Washington Seattle Campus. Public Health Dawgs (PHDs) are an engaged and diverse group of students in the Public Health Major who help with outreach and promotion of the major to prospective students. My fellow PHDs and I were selected through a competitive application process to be good representatives of the major as students and ensure that our involvement in the community would help ensure a strong student presence for outreach activities promoting the major. I learned to “infect undergraduates with public health!” through my involvement on campus and educating others about the significance of public health in society. As a PHD, I was able to communicate about my experiences in this major, serve as a resource for prospective students, and present at informational sessions. This curricular experience was valuable to me because I improved on facilitation, organization, planning, organizational behavior, and diversity.

Meet the Public Health Dawgs (PHDs) 2017-2018 Group

It has been fun and rewarding to work with other Public Health Major students who were passionate about sharing their experiences in the major to prospective students at UW.

The PHD cohort changes annually as reflected on the website. If you would like to learn more about the current cohort, click here: http://sph.washington.edu/uph/diversity/phdawgs.asp.

PublicHealthDawgs2017-2018_UWSchoolofPublicHealth.pdf

Personal Importance of Work

My role as a Public Health Dawg is significant to me because it emphasized my core values of loyalty and mindfulness. My junior year was academically exciting for me because I was finally in a major that I was interested in learning more about and grow in. I was very grateful to be accepted into the Public Health Major and wanted to get more involved in a student group that was passionate about the major. My loyalty of supporting the Public Health Major (PHM) has been shown through the events that I have attended and speaking with prospective students about how it is to be in the major. I know that being a resource in sharing my knowledge about applying for the major and taking the course requirements reflects upon my mindfulness of the challenges that I had to overcome to be the senior that I am today within this major. It also allows me to be aware of the advisors, professors, friends, supervisors, and resources available to me from being a Public Health Major and continue to support me to succeed. As a supporter in academic success, being a PHD has been rewarding in helping others realize how their interests and strengths coincide with public health.

Tasks Accomplished

Attend bi-weekly one hour meetings facilitated by Public Health Dawg(s) advisors/supervisors in the Health Sciences Building on-campus
Participate in group discussions and share ideas about approaches in performing outreach to student organizations, introductory science and/or public health classes, SPH (School of Public Health) events, and around campus
Support on-campus outreach efforts, tabling, and information sessions for the Public Health Major
Promote diversity, community, and engagement within the major through outreach to diverse populations of prospective student on-campus
Serve as a resource for prospective Public Health Major students
Gain professional development in leadership, outreach, and communication
Organize and plan outlines for elevator pitches on my role as a PHD, the public health major/fields, and outreach speeches to classes and/or clubs
Demonstrate and communicate experience and knowledge on Public Health Major application process and student perspective on the major through participating in being a student representative at…
- EOPHP (Educational Opportunity Public Health Program) Public Health Major Workshops (Public Health Major Application)
- Public Health Major Information Sessions
- Classroom and Student Organizations Outreach Drop-ins

Leadership Competencies Gained

WIN 2018 SPH Info Session Flyer

Outreach and Promotion for SPH and PHM

One of the ways that PHDs get to do outreach and promote the major is to print these fliers with quick information about the SPH undergraduate programs and PHM information sessions. I was one of the first PHDs to use this method when I did a classroom visit to an introductory Environmental Health class of 90 students.

Facilitation

Using management skills, I helped to orient some of the group members during outreach events in order to keep the group on track by ensuring that each person performed their role in an effective manner for the Public Health Major. Also, during meetings, I would ask questions to the supervisor and fellow PHDs about how to approach certain populations in promoting the major and what ideas should be considered when communicating to large groups of students in an engaging way that makes students excited and interested in public health for me to improve as a PHD and skills on advocating.

Organization

I have always been someone who enjoys to organize her belongings, activities, and life responsibilities in a planner. However, it can be a daunting task and not easy during times when life is very unpredictable and unexpected events occur which need attention and some organization to it. Being a PHD, one of the expectations is to do outreach events to classrooms and student organizations to students who are/could be interested in the Public Health Major. I was the first one to do a classroom outreach drop-in full of 90 students. I organized and created an outline of my elevator pitch/speech, and shared my outline to the rest of the group and my supervisor to help with future outreach events.

Planning

I also enjoy having a plan and knowing how to approach any situation whether one occurs or not just to be prepared for what could happen. I think that plans aid in navigating around tough situations and times when one will feel insecure and nervous (i.e. presentations). Thus, I planned a course of action when approaching ways to do outreach to prospective students during Public Health Major information sessions for myself by creating a list of examples of experiences that I can elaborate on when sharing with others.

Organizational Behavior

Within a group dynamic, it is so great to have a variety of perspectives from each individual because it aids in making the team/program/organization more holistic in its approach to achieving its goals. Yet, with differing personalities, it can be challenging for each person to have a role that they enjoy and is strengths-focused. In this group, I was able to work with the other PHDs to build upon a dynamic that worked with everyone’s strengths and interests when we participated in aiding the SPH Petting Zoo during Dawg Daze at UW Seattle Campus. The members who were more comfortable in speaking to students standing in line would be greeters, and others would be at the tables for prospective students to walk up to and ask questions about the major while waiting to enter the petting zoo.

Diversity

As someone who has grown up in South King County, I am used to being in diverse areas with various languages, cultures, religions, ethnicities, among other demographics of a population. I have always been interested in understanding how the diversity of people benefits society overall and the implications that are faced due to differing opinions of people. As a Public Health Major and Diversity Minor, I have learned and seen the impact of health disparities due to racism and discrimination of minority groups. I feel that there should be more representation when making decisions about policies and in power groups. Sharing my beliefs and incorporating that into what I have been learning in this major to prospective students during informational sessions as a PHD, it is significant to promote diversity and expand people’s thinking for the health field.

Lessons Learned and Future Oriented Statement

Being a Public Health Dawg during my junior and senior years has made me feel more connected to the PHM and UW community. It has taught me to face my fear of public speaking, and that I enjoy promoting about a topic of interest to others. Also, I have used my leadership competencies of diversity and facilitation in pursuing experiences related to the social determinants of health (i.e. education, parenting, workplace environment) to expand upon my understanding of public health issues and the various ways to communicate that. In regards for the future, I believe that the lessons that I learned from this experience made me more open-minded about how to interact with people in supporting a cause or topic. I hope to further develop my skills in outreach and promotion in my future career in the public health field.

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