May 3, 2024
Dear DrPHers,
It has been an especially challenging year domestically and globally regarding human rights, public health, and equity. I admire your resilience and continued commitment to the ideals behind your pursuit of a Doctor of Public Health degree at Harvard.
Congratulations to Heather Olden and Mrinalini Darswal from cohort 7 and Lin Abdul Rahman and Hailu Dhufera from cohort 8 for such impactful doctoral projects and theses on the implications of doula care coverage in Massachusetts, public/private partnerships regarding dengue in India, indirect swarming in social media worldwide, and insurance coverage in Ethiopia. One of my greatest pleasures of the year will be hooding them onstage in May. Many more of you will follow soon!
I continue to be impressed with your engagement in school and community leadership. A few examples are Heather Olden (c7) and Gabriela Rosa (c9) as presidents of the Harvard Chan Student Association, Pauline Nuth (c9) as president of the PHIT Forum, and Himi Mathur (c10) as Vice President of the National Association of Doctors of Public Health (formerly the DrPH coalition). Hailu Dhufera (c8), Tego Djoyum (c8), Tatenda Mujeni (c8), and Fatou Wurie (c9) played major leadership roles in a second successful African Health Conference this spring with over 500 in-person and online attendees.
We are excited to welcome cohort 11 this summer! Ten people were selected from 203 applications, representing people born in the US, Nigeria, Slovenia, Trinidad and Tobago, Columbia, Ecuador, Hungary, Rwanda, and Kuwait. Talk about worldwide origins and influence. A big thanks to our DrPH alums who served on this year’s admissions committee, reading what I’m sure seemed like countless applications.
For those of you in cohorts 7 through 9 and our alums, you can commiserate with cohort 10, who will soon be doing their WQE. I know they are up for the challenge. And please don’t forget our upcoming time to relax and refresh for all alums and current DrPH students – the Boston Harbor cruise organized by Gary on Friday, May 24. I hope to see many of you there, along with our faculty and staff.
Speaking of Gary, a special congratulations to him for his admission into the Harvard Graduate School of Education as a part-time student. I know he will soon help us solve all our pressing educational challenges in the DrPH program!
Finally, I am proud of our DrPH team – Gary, Gillian, Jen, Fawn, and Susan. You can imagine the tireless efforts they have put in over the last year to help you succeed in the program and to enhance your student/alum experience.
Best,
DrPH Program, Faculty Director
