Medical School Next Stop for ESU M.P.H. Student

Lavinia Harrison’s first major introduction to the healthcare field came after her mother suffered a stroke when Harrison was just three years old. Now poised to graduate from East Stroudsburg University’s Master of Public Health (M.P.H.) in Community Health program and enter medical school, Harrison hopes to use her education and experiences to make a profound impact on the policies that shape how people receive care.

“One person can’t change the world, but one person can absolutely leave quite an effect on it if they go about it the right way,” Harrison said.

Harrison, a native of Blue Bell, Pa., graduated from Holy Family University in Philadelphia in 2021 with a bachelor’s degree in biology. Though medical school was her ultimate goal, she developed a passion for health and wellness while working at Geisinger’s Commonwealth School of Medicine in Scranton and decided to pursue her master’s degree in public health, she said.

She began researching programs in the region that were 100 percent virtual and would allow her to continue working while also being located close enough for her to connect with classmates, work with faculty and contribute to the health needs of the local community, she said.

“East Stroudsburg University stood out from beginning to end,” she said. “The graduate department was welcoming and made the decision to attend easy.”

Harrison has excelled in the program, maintaining a 4.0 grade-point average while continuing to work full time, now as a research resource coordinator at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, volunteering, and holding a graduate assistantship under Clare Lenhart, Ph.D., M.P.H. program coordinator, professor of public health, and the director of ESU’s Institute for Public Health Research and Innovation.

“The assistantship gives us something concrete to work on together that forms the foundation for mentorship and teaching,” Dr. Lenhart said.

Under the assistantship, Harrison has spent the last two semesters investigating child deaths alongside Dr. Lenhart in collaboration with the Pennsylvania Department of Health’s Child Death Review Program. Their work aims to reduce future preventable child deaths by reviewing causes, analyzing data, and developing prevention strategies, Harrison said.

“Lavinia has a great potential to make an impact,” Dr. Lenhart said. “She’s motivated, she responds well to feedback, and that’s exactly what we look for in this program.”

Harrison’s motivation began at an early age. After her mother’s stroke, she quickly learned that healthcare can be an imperfect system, she said.

“I got introduced quite early and learned the advantages and disadvantages the field has,” she said.

The M.P.H. program equips graduates to tackle those very issues, Dr. Lenhart said.

“In public health, our goal is to get to the root of the problem,” Dr. Lenhart said. “Why are people sick? Why are communities struggling? You need to be open minded to be able to address these issues in a creative way, and Lavinia has been eager and open to that.”

Fully accredited by the Council on Education for Public Health since 1990, the 42-credit program mixes classroom experiences with service learning and capstone experiences in practice and research, enabling graduates to address complex population health needs.

Students receive instruction in core public health disciplines like biostatistics, epidemiology, environmental health, social and behavioral sciences, and public health administration. All students complete a six-credit applied practice internship in which defined community health projects are completed.

Additionally, it is one of the few programs in the region that focuses on rural health disparities and the unique needs of the region.

Though the curriculum is 100 percent online, Harrison said it was important for her to feel connected to ESU’s campus and its surrounding communities. To that end, she has participated in workshops with the Pre-Med Club and volunteered with the Pocono Mountains United Way.

“I was timid at first and worried about how active I can be, but the faculty helped push me,” Harrison said. “They told me, ‘Even though this program is virtual, we want you here.’ I had pivotal experiences because I didn’t limit myself.”

Reflecting on the program as she prepares to graduate in May, Harrison said it helped grow her mindset in the sense of public health and its importance and educated her on problems and how to get to solutions. She is currently working on narrowing her choice for medical school, she said.

“It’s gone above and beyond my expectations,” she said of the program. “I expected to learn and be challenged, and I did both. I learned so much and am now ready to go into the world of public health.”

Learn more about ESU’s Master of Public Health (M.P.H.) in Community Health program.

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