Hi all, can you believe it? Its almost fall break(ish) already. Time to cram for your midterms. It’s really late in the semester, but this is my first blog, so I wanted to give you a quick introduction to Tulane’s School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine (SPHTM) as well as the Masters International Program (MI). I’m also going to try and get you caught up on all the different activities that the MI program has been involved with thus far. Now that the blog is up and running, I’m going to be sending you a bi-monthly update on learnin and livin in NOLA…stay tuned!!!
First off. A note about this author and the blog
My name’s Matt. I’m currently a Master’s of Science in Public Health (MSPH) student in the department of Tropical Medicine and also in the Master’s International program. I graduated from Pitzer College in California in 2011 with a BA in Biology and a minor in Studio Art. I currently work as a professional document scanner and shredder (aka Graduate Assistant) in the Office of Admissions for the School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine and am in the endless, painstaking process that is the Peace Corps application. I hope to eventually serve my Peace Corps tour somewhere in Sub-Saharan Africa in a health care oriented capacity, where if I am really lucky I will get to teach a lot about parasites and their transmission through poop, which is currently all I am studying. My long term career goal, aside from trying to remain a student for as long as possible, is to eventually go to medical school and work in some type of rural medicine.
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| I'm on the left enjoying my free pizza. |
As a disclaimer, I admit that I have absolutely no experience what so ever with blogging. I don’t understand the concept of a Twitter. I barely ever check my, all so crucial, Facebook page, and I can’t spell to save my life. However, I can type which makes me by far the most qualified person to write this newly formed blog. So I promise it’s going to be awesome!!!
The purpose of this blog is to give an idea of what its like to be a Public Health & MI student at Tulane and to live in New Orleans. I will be talking about such things as participating in school and MI activities, extra curriculars, and city festivals/events. Hopefully I will be able to post some awesome pictures to dilute my ramblings and keep you entertained. I also hope to have some guest posts from various people who can offer different points of view about Tulane’s School of Public Health, the Masters International program, and live in the Peace Corps. I hope you enjoy!
Tulane’s School of Public Health & Tropical Medicine Tulane's School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine is the oldest school of public health in the country and the only American school of tropical medicine (100 years old in 2012). The school's mission is to advance public health knowledge, promote health and well-being, and prevent disease, disability, and premature mortality. This is accomplished through education of public health professionals, scientific research of problems, partnerships, and service to the global public health community. The school is comprised of seven academic departments: biostatistics and bioinformatics, global community health and behavioral sciences, global environmental health sciences, epidemiology, global health systems and development, and tropical medicine. The school has more than 1,400 students and 100 faculty. The students, faculty, and staff represent more than 70 cultures from around the world. The school enjoys reciprocal relationships with other Tulane units, including the School of Medicine, the Tulane Regional Primate Research Center, and the Center for Infectious Diseases, the Tulane/Xavier Center for Bioenvironmental Research, and the Tulane/Xavier Center for Excellence in Women's Health.
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| Fall 2011 MI Orientation. |
MI Program
The Master's International Program allows us students to earn our Master in Public Health or Master of Science in Public Health while simultaneously serving in the United States Peace Corps. The program is designed for us to apply skills learned in an academic setting toward solving important health problems in developing countries during our service overseas.
We spend three semesters(ish) earning a Master of Public Health (MPH) or a Master of Science in Public Health (MSPH) at Tulane University in New Orleans. Here, we study under the guidance of internationally respected professors, many of whom are Returned Peace Corps Volunteers. During our time at Tulane we participate in seminars created to prepare us for service overseas, and also have the option to participate in language programs designed to enhance our speaking ability for placement in more competitive countries.
Once finished with our coursework, and usually after some nervous waiting, we leave Tulane to begin our service in a country assigned by the Peace Corps. While serving, we write quarterly reports and create a practicum project that will build on the skills we have learned back at Tulane. Hopefully, once our service and practicum are completed, we return home not only as Returned Peace Corps Volunteers, but also as graduates of Tulane University’s School of Public Health & Tropical Medicine.
A note on our Co-Coordinators:
Kelly Nowicki
RPCV Jamaica 2007-2009
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| Kelly at work! |
Kelly is an MPH student in the Department of International something-or-another and is focusing on HIV/AIIDS. She received her BA in Cultural Anthro specializing in Peace & Justice, and Gender & Sexuality from Michigan State University.
Upon graduating from MSU, Kelly joined the Peace Corps and served in St. Ann's Bay, Jamaica from 2007-2009 as a HIV/AIDS Advisor. She worked at a family planning NGO called The Jamaica Family Planning Association (FAMPLAN) doing community health outreach and youth development. She co-led the Youth Advocacy Movement (YAM), a peer-education youth group trained to educate youth about HIV/AIDS/STIs, reproductive health, contraceptives, responsibility, and leadership. With the YAMs, Kelly created the YAM Youth Lounge and Cyber Cafe as an after school drop-in center for youth, as well as the YAM 'headquarters' where trainings, meetings, and events were held.
Kelly currently utilizes her expertise as a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer to help guide our young fragile Masters International student minds.
Mirinda Gormley
RPCV Tanzania 2008-2010
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| Mirinda loves directing. |
Mirinda Gormley is a fellow MSPH student in the best department at the school, Department of Tropical Medicine. Her undergraduate education includes a B.S. double concentration of Biology and International Studies and a B.S. in Psychology from Iowa State University.
Upon graduating from ISU, Mirinda joined the Peace Corps and served in Makongonda, a rural village in the Mtwara region of Tanzania, East Africa. Mirinda was a Health extension volunteer who was asked to work primarily in Makong'onda Secondary School as a Biology teacher. Along with full-time teaching, Mirinda was able to instigate several different projects throughout Tanzania, including several HIV/AIDS testing and awareness days, a strong village Peer Education program, a permaculture project for at-risk mothers, and workshops in life skills for young male and female students.
Mirinda currently does most of her work promoting the work that Tulane Masters International students complete overseas, as well as creating new projects and opportunities for the Returned Volunteer students at Tulane.
So basically aside from being entirely over achieving and slightly crazy they are pretty awesome…
1st Social Event- Penny’s Party
First of all many thanks to Penny Jessop for hosting the Masters International program’s first social event and allowing us to get to know the Humpfery Fellows. Also thank you to everyone who brought food, it was all delicious! The point of the night was to bring a food from either your native country (for the Fellows) or the country you served in (for Returned Volunteers). . We started with introductions to the Humphrey Fellows and their family’s then the MIs went on to participate in what Mirinda and Kelly tried to pass off as “MI Iron Chef Competition.” The premise being that the MIs were to cook a dinner using only ingredients that we might find while serving in Peace Corps. These ingredients included a coconut that we didn’t have a knife to open, rice that was full of chocolate chip “rocks” that we had to pick out, and onions that were so tiny you couldn’t really cut them with a knife! We were all divided into teams and each team was given an ingredient. Everything apparently went well as we “exceeded expectations.” Although apparently my beans were “slightly undercooked,” (sorry but it is hard to cook beans that have only been soaking for ½ a day). We pulled off the meal and Judge Penny and the other two guest judges said they loved it. Judge Penny even insisted on keeping the Plantains, then told us not to forget to take the beans (they seriously were NOT THAT BAD.) The evening naturally finished off much socializing and storytelling, and we MI students learned that RPCVs have many, MANY, stories.
NOAIDS Walk
More recently the MIs, RPCVs, and Humphrey Fellows participated in the NOLA NO/AIDS Task Force walk in Audubon Park. We had a fairly good showing and our participation was a success since this year as a group we actually over $550. I guess last year only Ashley, highly distinguished RPCV from Moldova, was able to raise money, this year we decided to work as a team with a plan from our fearless leader: Kelly. Our fundraising activities included selling bread at the French Market and convincing our friend’s, classmates, and even fellow bar patrons and bartenders that they should buy raffle tickets from us. The raffle itself may have even been the best raffle ever with Barb acting as MC and myself as ticket-bucket holder. It was awesome. Big thanks go to Handsome Willies (the unofficial-official bar of upper-education in the Central Business District (CBD)) for their generous donation to the cause. Overall, thanks to everyone who participated and did their part to help the NO/AIDS task force!
Rebuilding New Orleans
Over the past two weekends many MI Students and RPCVs have volunteered their Saturday to work for the Rebuilding New Orleans project (RNO). The program is dedicated to helping rebuild people’s homes that were destroyed or damaged in Katrina, and yes there is still plenty to do to rebuild since the hurricane hit in 2005. The house we were working at is well over 100 years old.
While the house was not flooded during Katrina the indoor plumbing addition that was added to the back of the house when it received running water a million years ago fell off. RNO rebuilt the entire addition, which included a bathroom with connected laundry room and kitchen. There was a variety of jobs to do; ours included painting the house inside and out as well as laying flooring throughout the house. We had pretty good attendance by both MIs and RPCVs plus some of our friends we convinced to come along and help. By the end of the 1st day we had the inside of the house and parts of the outside complete. I was unable to attend the 2nd day but heard that some of the volunteers did an excellent job laying bamboo flooring and tile throughout the house! Thanks to everyone who participated and thanks to the Rebuilding New Orleans project for allowing us to take part.
1st Monthly Meeting
Last week we had our 1st monthly MI meeting MCed by our awesome Co-Coordinators. The main theme was Teaching in the Peace Corps- Techniques, Projects, and Sustainability. We had three RPCV speakers including Ashley (Moldova), Robyn (Peru), and of course Mirinda (Tanzania). We also had a question and answer session with Sarah (Thailand). The presentations were all very informative and fun to listen to. Ashley and Robyn gave some great tips on how to work with our counterparts, the countries schools, and most importantly how to make our projects sustainable, stable, and long lasting. Mirinda talked about the benefits and disadvantages to sustainability with regards to infrastructure projects, and showed a video on her library project in Tanzania. If you want to know more you can see the PowerPoint and video on the seminar page on the website http://tulane.edu/publichealth/mip/2011-masters-international-program-meetings.cfm
That’s all for this edition. I hope this to become a bi-monthly show so keep an eye out for the next edition. Thanks for reading.
Best,
Matt
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