Jackie L. is one of our Public Health Corps Members working at the Pima County Health Department as an Environmental Health Technician. “I do aquatic facility inspections, which means that I am checking to make sure that there is no failing equipment or a lack of cleanliness in the pool that can impact the health and well-being of the people using the pool,” said Jackie. The role is to prevent infectious diseases and injuries from occurring and ensure that the chlorine levels are good. “I am working on the vector surveillance team- reading the reports, and creating the annual report for the team to see exactly what diseases we are preventing.”
Jackie’s interest in Public Health has been there since she was in high school thanks to becoming a member of a Health Leaders Program. “I ended up planning and organizing an event called ‘Just for the Health of it’ to bring awareness to topics like drug/alcohol abuse, suicide prevention, and mental health awareness,” said Jackie.
The purpose of “Just for the Health of It” is to educate about healthy eating, and to encourage healthy habits. “We hosted a 5k walk around the high school, we invited a Zumba instructor, a CrossFit class, and we had healthy fruits and snacks. Doing all that, collaborating with people and health clinics was very fun. I realized I enjoyed it and I had a great time meeting different people and talking with them, and I realized that was it and I think this event really pushed me towards public health”’
Working at the Pima County Health Department to gain experience for her future career goals seemed like the logical next step. “I feel like my role at the PCHD gives me an insight into what type of jobs I can work at the health department. It showed me that I am not particularly interested in my direct line of work, but it helped me realize I enjoy the research component a lot more. I’ve had the opportunity to work with very important people in the health department as an intern and all of that has been a very great experience in showing me what I specifically want to do and what I don’t enjoy.”
This opportunity has also led to a lot of personal growth for Jackie. “I feel like I’ve changed a lot, my perspective on what the health department does for a community has grown- I didn’t realize how much work they did and how many elements go into preventing people from getting sick in the first place.”
All of this work she is currently doing has only helped propel her to what she wants to do next. “I’ve applied to graduate school and I am hoping to complete my master’s in public health- ideally with an emphasis in environmental health sciences. I’m interested in the Peace Corps, interested in the world of research for public health looking into zoonotic diseases and potentially helping people’s health as well as animal/environmental health. I just hope wherever I do end up working it is with a community organization that shares the same values and morals that I do.”