Rachel Baker

How do you describe public health?

To me, public health is a lot of different things. It encompasses many of different areas, and that was one of the things that really excited me about a career and a future in public health – that there's so much to explore. So, to me, public health is a lot of different things. It's things like social determinants of health, things in our everyday environment and in our world, it's things like healthcare and access to healthcare. It’s things like diseases and spread of disease, like we're experiencing right now with COVID. Public health is a great option, in my opinion, because there are so many different things you can do with it. This career path has endless possibilities, and it's exciting to know that no matter what my interests are, I can find a way to incorporate that into my career in public health.

When did you know you wanted to study public health?

I started my time at WVU in the School of Nursing and over time I realized that direct patient care was really not for me. I really wanted to be able to help a lot of people at once, and so public health was a really great way for me to be able to impact a large population. When I switched my major, I was a little hesitant, but during that first semester I was guided by a lot of great faculty and I just really felt my passion for public health come alive.

What has stood out about the MHA program?

One thing that I was really excited about with the MHA program was the fact that it was brand new and that I knew that there would be a small cohort of us. I’ve really tried to get to know everyone in my class. It’s been really nice that we're able to interact a lot.

Another thing that has been really great about the program so far is the types of classes. It’s really interesting for me because some of it is overlap for my undergrad degree, but there are still a ton of new concepts and that's really exciting for me to be able to learn new things and apply them to what I've already learned.

The leadership in healthcare course has been really interesting. We've been able to learn a lot about different theories of leadership and different styles of leadership. It's really helped me to sort of begin to gauge what my style of leadership is and what kind of leader I want to be in the future.

What do you like the most about WVU?

I think one thing that WVU does really, really well is, like Dr. Gee always says, “we work hard and we play hard.” And I think that is one of the best things about the University. There's really something here for everyone. There are tons of different academic opportunities, there are a lot of different recreational opportunities, student organizations, sports. I think that WVU is really a place that anyone can thrive in and enjoy.

One of my favorite things about the School of Public Health is the amount of support from staff and faculty members. I think it's what makes students thrive and succeed in the program, being able to turn to your faculty members or support or advice.

What do you want to do when you graduate?

I would love to get some experience in the healthcare administration world. I think getting hands-on experience is always important. Long term, I know I want to work within a large health system to be able to implement population health programs. I think that I would definitely love to continue working in the area of food access. That's one thing that I have grown really passionate about in my time in public health. I'm working on a project with Dr. Lauri Andress examining a large grant for WVU Extension called Appetite for Healthy Future. We are doing interviews and conducting focus groups with people all around the state talking about food access. So that's something that definitely interests me and I would love to pursue in the future.

What would be your advice to future public health students?

My advice for future public health students would definitely be to get involved in as much as you can with the School of Public Health. Really reach out to your professors, reach out to faculty and staff. They have a lot of wonderful knowledge to share. Also, get connected with other public health students. I think hearing other people's perspectives can help to guide you to where you want to be and learning about other people's experiences is really important when deciding what you want to do.

Additional comments…

I would emphasize how important it is for people to consider careers in healthcare, and I think, especially, to consider programs like the Health Administration program. We really are learning such valuable skills and have such great leaders in the program. People who are interested should look into it and think about it pretty critically because, like we've seen with COVID, the need for healthcare leadership is so important, and I think that this program is really preparing me to be one of those leaders in the future.