I need to write a personal statement stating my reasons for studying public health, my career goals, and how the university will assist me in my goals
I woke up to the jarring sound of someone pounding on my door. As a Resident Assistant in a dorm, knocks were very common. Pounding wasn't. I jumped out of bed - something had to be wrong. I opened the door, and a resident I recognized as living in the building, but not on my floor, was standing there. He told me I needed to use my master key to open the room of his friend Jordan, one of the residents of my floor, and a longtime sufferer of depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts. I didn't question him. The intensity and desperation in his voice was palpable. As I opened the door, something in my gut told me what I would find, but nothing could have prepared me for the vomit, blood, and death I would see as I opened the door. My smart, kind, hilarious resident had taken his own life in the middle of the night, after years of feeling as though he was alone in his battle with mental illness.
Depression is common among college students, particularly freshmen, and as Resident Assistants we are trained to instruct all students suffering from depression or mental illness to seek help from the university's health clinic. That was all. We were never taught how to help these residents, to provide support, or to assist them if speaking to a psychologist wasn't an effective method of treatment for them. I tried to help Jordan the best I could, but I was never trained in how to deal with suicidal thoughts. Suicide was a taboo topic in my family, my hometown, my schools, and my job as a Resident Assistant. No one talked about suicide; it was seen as a foreign topic, something that happened in movies, but never in real life, and certainly not to someone I would ever come into contact with. Jordan, like me and the other students at my university, we forced to learn about suicide and depression on our own. Feelings of depression, or suicidal thoughts, weren't seen as acceptable, and forced those suffering to keep their feelings inside. Had Jordan felt more comfortable, maybe he would have come to speak to someone. Maybe he would still be here today. Instead, he felt as though his feelings were 'wrong' and that, because he had these 'wrong' feelings, he didn't deserve to be alive.
As a History, International Studies, and Political Science major, I have always had an interest in how policies affect the lives of individuals. In my university career, I have also taken numerous courses in public health. These courses have allowed me to develop an acute understanding of how policies and society affect the ways in which diseases are treated and viewed in society, and how these stigmas can influence one's health. Despite these courses, however, it was not until I found Jordan's lifeless body that the lack of education and the severe stigma against mental illness really affected me. I began to further explore how stigma affects illness by becoming a volunteer at AIDS Network, a nonprofit organization whose goal is to promote healthy lifestyles, while assisting in fighting stigmas associated with HIV/AIDS and preventing the further spread of HIV and other STDs. My work at AIDS Network has given me a path to fight stigma, by educating the community on HIV/AIDS. Stigma and ignorance are closely related, and education can be one of the most effective ways to end stigma.
I am most interested in public health education and policy, for all diseases to which severe stigma is associated, including depression and HIV/AIDS. I strive to be an individual who can allow people of all ages and backgrounds to live in a supportive environment where they are not afraid to ask questions about, or seek help for, stigmatized illnesses. Too many individuals die each year because they are afraid to seek help for a medical problem - whether it is depression, and an individual is brought to suicide, or HIV/AIDS, and an individual infects more individuals because they are too afraid to share their HIV-status. Far too many health education programs are ineffective, and I hope to be able to create and implement programs that break down stereotypes and stigma surrounding disease.
My coursework, community involvement, and personal experiences have established my desire to pursue a Masters of Public Health. Through my studies, I hope to gain a more complete understanding of public health research, policies, and practices. I am passionate about exploring the social effects of stigma, particularly for mental and sexual health.
The program of the DEPARTMENT at UNIVERSITY will greatly assist me in reaching these goals. I am drawn to UNIVERSITY because of its emphasis on practical field experience. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to extend classroom knowledge into the field of public health. I am very confident that the Master of Public Health program at UNIVERSITY will allow me to develop the necessary knowledge and skills to design and implement health programs that fight stigma surrounding sexual and mental health. The Masters of Public Health program at UNIVERSITY is the most appropriate continuation of my academic desires, and the most crucial step toward achieving my career goals.
I woke up to the jarring sound of someone pounding on my door. As a Resident Assistant in a dorm, knocks were very common. Pounding wasn't. I jumped out of bed - something had to be wrong. I opened the door, and a resident I recognized as living in the building, but not on my floor, was standing there. He told me I needed to use my master key to open the room of his friend Jordan, one of the residents of my floor, and a longtime sufferer of depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts. I didn't question him. The intensity and desperation in his voice was palpable. As I opened the door, something in my gut told me what I would find, but nothing could have prepared me for the vomit, blood, and death I would see as I opened the door. My smart, kind, hilarious resident had taken his own life in the middle of the night, after years of feeling as though he was alone in his battle with mental illness.
Depression is common among college students, particularly freshmen, and as Resident Assistants we are trained to instruct all students suffering from depression or mental illness to seek help from the university's health clinic. That was all. We were never taught how to help these residents, to provide support, or to assist them if speaking to a psychologist wasn't an effective method of treatment for them. I tried to help Jordan the best I could, but I was never trained in how to deal with suicidal thoughts. Suicide was a taboo topic in my family, my hometown, my schools, and my job as a Resident Assistant. No one talked about suicide; it was seen as a foreign topic, something that happened in movies, but never in real life, and certainly not to someone I would ever come into contact with. Jordan, like me and the other students at my university, we forced to learn about suicide and depression on our own. Feelings of depression, or suicidal thoughts, weren't seen as acceptable, and forced those suffering to keep their feelings inside. Had Jordan felt more comfortable, maybe he would have come to speak to someone. Maybe he would still be here today. Instead, he felt as though his feelings were 'wrong' and that, because he had these 'wrong' feelings, he didn't deserve to be alive.
As a History, International Studies, and Political Science major, I have always had an interest in how policies affect the lives of individuals. In my university career, I have also taken numerous courses in public health. These courses have allowed me to develop an acute understanding of how policies and society affect the ways in which diseases are treated and viewed in society, and how these stigmas can influence one's health. Despite these courses, however, it was not until I found Jordan's lifeless body that the lack of education and the severe stigma against mental illness really affected me. I began to further explore how stigma affects illness by becoming a volunteer at AIDS Network, a nonprofit organization whose goal is to promote healthy lifestyles, while assisting in fighting stigmas associated with HIV/AIDS and preventing the further spread of HIV and other STDs. My work at AIDS Network has given me a path to fight stigma, by educating the community on HIV/AIDS. Stigma and ignorance are closely related, and education can be one of the most effective ways to end stigma.
I am most interested in public health education and policy, for all diseases to which severe stigma is associated, including depression and HIV/AIDS. I strive to be an individual who can allow people of all ages and backgrounds to live in a supportive environment where they are not afraid to ask questions about, or seek help for, stigmatized illnesses. Too many individuals die each year because they are afraid to seek help for a medical problem - whether it is depression, and an individual is brought to suicide, or HIV/AIDS, and an individual infects more individuals because they are too afraid to share their HIV-status. Far too many health education programs are ineffective, and I hope to be able to create and implement programs that break down stereotypes and stigma surrounding disease.
My coursework, community involvement, and personal experiences have established my desire to pursue a Masters of Public Health. Through my studies, I hope to gain a more complete understanding of public health research, policies, and practices. I am passionate about exploring the social effects of stigma, particularly for mental and sexual health.
The program of the DEPARTMENT at UNIVERSITY will greatly assist me in reaching these goals. I am drawn to UNIVERSITY because of its emphasis on practical field experience. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to extend classroom knowledge into the field of public health. I am very confident that the Master of Public Health program at UNIVERSITY will allow me to develop the necessary knowledge and skills to design and implement health programs that fight stigma surrounding sexual and mental health. The Masters of Public Health program at UNIVERSITY is the most appropriate continuation of my academic desires, and the most crucial step toward achieving my career goals.