Katie is from Cedar Rapids, Iowa. She graduated from Grinnell College with a BA in History. She is a second year Master of Public Health student in the Community and Behavioral Health department at the University of Iowa. She works for the MPH Department and for the Iowa Cancer Consortium. She is interested in many public health topics, including health disparities, chronic disease prevention, sexual assault and domestic violence prevention, and health communication. In her spare time, she enjoys cycling and playing board games with friends.
Hello!
This is my very first blog post and hopefully it's at least somewhat interesting to you! I'm just finishing up the first week of classes for my second and final year of the MPH program in the Community and Behavioral Health track. I hope this blog will show one perspective of what life is like for an MPH student living in Iowa City and will generate discussion about certain public health topics.
This week has been very busy, with everyone back on campus and classes already starting full swing. Graduate school means the first week is no longer "syllabus week." This summer was pretty action-packed for me: I moved into a new apartment on IC's Northside, continued to work at the Iowa Cancer Consortium, began a new job as a graduate research assistant in the MPH department, took my first summer class ever (Health Communications with Prof. Campo, which was fascinating), went to England for the first time with my family, and two of my best friends got married. I also just got a food processor, which I am ridiculously excited about. Now I'm getting settled into my new schedule of going to class and being involved in school activities.
One thing you should know about me is that I spend a probably unhealthy amount of time on the internet reading random articles, and these three in particular I thought were pretty interesting (and somewhat related to public health — but isn't everything?):
How America turned poverty into a crime by Barbara Ehrenreich (author of Nickel and Dimed)
Quote from the article: "In what has become a familiar pattern, the government defunds services that might help the poor while ramping up law enforcement. Shut down public housing, then make it a crime to be homeless. Generate no public-sector jobs, then penalize people for falling into debt. The experience of the poor, and especially poor people of color, comes to resemble that of a rat in a cage scrambling to avoid erratically administered electric shocks."
Swapping meat for nuts to lower diabetes risk by Anahad O'Connor
Quote: "Eating just 50 grams a day of processed meat — one hot dog or sausage, for example, or a little more than two strips of bacon — increased the risk [of Type 2 diabetes] 51 percent."
"Cyberloafing" at work boosts productivity, researchers find by David Jamieson
My coworker showed me this one. I'm a big fan of YouTube videos, so this article made me feel like maybe all my viewings of Hot Salsa Dog weren't a total waste of time...
Anyway, that's probably enough for now. I'm looking forward to this school year and to sharing my experiences with you all!
Katie
Posts
Goodbye!
12 years ago
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