Name: Kacey

Sophomore

Major: Biology, History

CFS Concentration: Field Studies in Public Health

As I near the end of this quarter and look back on the progress of my development through my internship, I am surprised to see how different my experience has been as compared to my expectations (in a good way). I am currently working on a research project called Keep Your Heart Healthy that is a joint project by the Feinberg School of Medicine and the Chicago Department of Public Health. We are primarily active in two communities, North Lawndale and Humboldt Park, both of which display higher than normal rates of cardiovascular disease in the population. In the project, we provide free heart screenings at weekly resource fairs in both neighborhoods which are facilitated by current medical students supervised by an on-site physician. Eventually, we would like to determine the effects of a successful community based prevention program to lower risk factors for CVD.

Before coming into the project, my expectations for the internship were based around an image of working in a cubicle compiling data and analyzing trends in the feedback surveys from the events. However, I was pleasantly surprised when I realized that I actually spent more time out of my cubicle than in it. A large part of my time as an intern was spent simply learning more about the field of preventive medicine by attending various seminars held by leading research professors and physicians from all over the nation. In addition, I was able to be actively involved in the resource fairs that were held within the community. I cannot describe how valuable this particular experience was because talking to the residents of the community and understanding their health situation was enlightening as to which aspects of health significantly impact the community most devastatingly and which aspects the community members themselves are striving to change.

I am very grateful to the Chicago Field Studies program because I believe that an internship is an important learning experience in many ways. I have become passionate about the research that my supervisors are doing and have decided to continue on with the project in the future even after this quarter. In addition, I am now planning on applying to grad school for a Master’s in Public Health next year. I think that these internships, no matter which field you are in, are inspiring to the students who participate in their own unique ways, just as mine was for me.