Students in the public health program brought pride to Baldwin Wallace this April by winning second place in the national public health Scholar Bowl in St. Louis, Missouri. The competition was a one day academic challenge for public health students led by faculty advisors, and consisted of a case study and trivia portion. Eight schools were present at the competition.
BW adopted the public health major two years ago, one of only a handful of schools in Ohio with a program in this high-demand field. This year will feature the first graduating seniors of the BW public health program.
Public health is a field dedicated to disease prevention, public education of health initiatives and social justice issues related to health.
The BW program utilizes case studies and hands-on research opportunities to better prepare students for a future in the field. BW’s public health program has five focuses in the studies of biostatistics, epidemiology, environmental health, health policy, and social and behavioral sciences. Career opportunities for public health majors include public health analyst, infectious disease manager and health care manager.
Dr. Swagata Banik is the Public Health Program Director and was the faculty advisor of the students who competed in the Scholar Bowl. One of those students was Jesper Zuber, a junior public health major.
“Originally I was a pre-med major, but I decided that I didn’t want to go to medical school,” Zuber said. “The public health program really appealed to me because it is a very fun, hands-on program that gives you the opportunity to start your passion right away without going to graduate school.”
Zuber is also the secretary of the new public health club. The club is named Veritas in reference to the public health truths that members wish to relate.
Zuber emphasized the important role of public health in America’s health care system.
“If it wasn’t for public health officials communicating with doctors and vice versa, then our system would not work,” Zuber said. “Everyone has to work together.”