August 26, 2019—The Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health community welcomed new students on August 26, kicking off a week of Orientation activities.
In her welcome address, Dean Michelle Williams told the new students that their collective passion to make the world a healthier, safer, and more equitable place couldn’t have come at a more important time. Threats to health from cancer to climate change seem daunting, she said, but the public health successes of the past demonstrate that brilliant minds coming together can make a difference. She urged students to make the time for service, and for forging friendships, and to always “remember the why” that brought them to public health.
Keynote speaker Howard Koh, Harvey V. Fineberg Professor of the Practice of Public Health Leadership, called on students to become ambassadors for public health, which he called a misunderstood field that is “fascinating and frustrating, exhilarating and exhausting.” He told students that they would “wake up every day astonished” by the breadth of what it encompasses, and it’s power to change the world.
The weeklong Orientation program also includes introductions to the U.S. health care system and the city of Boston, academic sessions on the foundations of public health, a structured workshop on Calling to Public Health: Self, Social and Global Awareness, and social activities.
Photos: Kent Dayton
