I completed my undergraduate degree in Liberal Arts and Sciences – Psychology at the University of Illinois at Urbana – Champaign in 2008.  After graduation I worked for two years at a community mental health center in Springfield, I was very fortunate to be accepted and began my MPH degree in Fall 2010, with an internship at the Illinois Department of Public Health in Newborn Hearing Screening.

Knowing that I wanted to pursue medical school after graduation, Dr. Alamu (my advisor) encouraged me to take classes in both the traditional MPH curriculum and the environmental track.  I was challenged by the graduate-level coursework and diversity of issues in my public health and science classes, and these experiences helped me prepare for the MCAT and application to medical school.  Upon completion of my MPH degree in Spring 2012, I was accepted to Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, Class of 2016.  As I leave the University of Illinois system for the first time, I know that my experiences with the MPH program at UIS have shaped my future career as an MD/MPH!