Rollins Earn and Learn (REAL) is a program that offers Rollins students the opportunity to work in applied public health settings to gain real-world experiences. Orange Sparkle Ball had the opportunity to work with two students Liris Berra, Public Health Innovation Analyst and Ryan Mathura, Public Health Innovation Analyst. As their REAL experience ends, we wanted to share what their journey has been since their time working with OSB.
Who we are…
Ryan: I’m a second-year MPH in the Health Policy and Management concentration and by the time this is published I’ll probably have graduated! I graduated from the University of Central Florida in 2015 with a B.S. in Health Science and worked at the Duke Human Vaccine Institute as a Research Technician in a clinical immunology lab for about 4 years. I became interested in public health during my senior year of college after taking a couple of courses and decided to pursue my MPH after learning more about the field through some networking opportunities.
Liris: I’m a first-year MPH student in the Global Health department, my concentration is in Community Health Development and I am also pursuing a certificate in the Social Determinants of Health. I completed a dual degree in Public Health and Elementary Education at the University of Miami. Since then, I’ve worked as an ESOL teacher and an AmeriCorps Vista. Currently, I am interested in health disparities in LatinX communities, food security, gender-based violence, and child and adolescent health. In my free time I like to spend time outdoors at the beach, hike, kayak, and bike. I also love to cook, read, and play with my pets!
Why we wanted to work here…
Liris: What initially prompted my interest in working with the OSB team was their focus on innovation. My experience working in community based settings, both as a teacher and public health professional, left me wishing there was more opportunity to explore new ways of solving problems I witnessed. I wanted to learn more about the innovation process and how it could be applied to problems I witnessed in my community.
Ryan: Public Health education is a big reason I chose to pursue my MPH. Before coming to Emory, I worked in vaccine research and that drove me to wanting to understand how people make decisions regarding healthcare based on their experiences and education. With the COVID-19 pandemic in full swing and the niche OSB was carving out in the health communication space, I wanted to use my knowledge of immunology to help people make sense of a lot of the topics that were dominating the news.
What we’ve gained from working here...
Liris: I’ve learned a lot about concepts such as human centered design, innovation, and entrepreneurship and how these all relate to public health. One of the big things that I’ve gained is experience working on an interdisciplinary team. I’ve learned that we all have different jargon for similar concepts. I’ve had the opportunity to align processes and language across these disciplines in a framework that can be utilized to innovate and accelerate solutions across various disciplines.
Ryan: I learned how to work with and for people that weren’t in STEM fields. My previous work experiences relied heavily on fellow immunologists, biostatisticians, and epidemiologists just to name some fields. I was able to learn how to speak and write in a way that a non-technical person could understand. One of my favorite pieces that I got to work on was debunking some new consumer targeted UV disinfection devices that sprung up because of COVID. Being able to have a platform with some reach to distribute an educational infographic about a very technical topic in an easily digestible format was definitely a challenge but very rewarding in the end.
Where we go from here...
Liris: Throughout the next year of my MPH program, I am certain I will be able to apply the skills that I learned at OSB not only in my coursework but in other work opportunities I pursue. This Summer I’ll be working on both a qualitative and quantitative applied practicum experience (APE), as I hope to further develop my research skill set. To be honest, I’m not really sure where I go next but I do know that I will miss working with the OSB team deeply!
Ryan: Working with OSB has been an outstandingly fulfilling experience and I really am going to miss the Public Health team! I’ve learned so much about working with people of different backgrounds, disciplines, and experiences during my time here. With the skills and relationships I’ve built at OSB, I was able to secure a fellowship in program management at the CDC and I’ll be keeping my eyes peeled for OSB’s great work!
Interested in learning more about Liris’s and Ryan’s work? Check out some of their favorite work below.
Graphics by Sophie Becker, Design Strategist
Sophie is a design strategist at Orange Sparkle Ball. She is a recent graduate from RIT and holds a bachelor’s in industrial design and psychology. Her studies informed her interest in using design thinking to communicate abstract and complex ideas, particularly in public health.
