Name: Hayley Platt
Year: Senior
Major: Biology, Global Health
Minor: African Studies
CFS Class: Field Studies in Public Health
Employer: Legal Council for Health Justice
For CFS, I’ve been working at the Legal Council for Health Justice (LCHJ) as an intern for the Lead and Early Intervention team. Lead poisoning is a critical issue facing the state of Illinois, with thousands of children statewide testing positive for elevated blood lead levels (EBL) every year. The state of Illinois has a program focusing on development assistance, among other programs, for children aged 3-5 with EBLs. LCHJ is working to expand this program, through their Early Intervention pilot, which expands these services to children aged 0-3 with EBLs. Expanding the program is key, as the more proactive we can be when dealing with children who have been lead poisoned, the more developmental delays can be prevented or minimized.
One of the things I like most about my internship is that I don’t have a typical day — my role as intern essentially consists of doing whatever work my boss needs to be done. I get to experience a variety of activities, from attending meetings, taking notes on conference calls (often attended by some of the key players in Illinois public health), or helping plan and facilitate trainings for practitioners who are part of the Early Intervention Pilot. One of the activities I do frequently is help submit legislative comments on potential rulings from the Illinois Department of Public Health. These comments help shape the rules that govern public health in the state, ensuring that IDPH fully covers all the requirements set forth in the relevant Illinois Public Acts. While it can be difficult to get a feel for my responsibilities as an intern, I enjoy adapting to each new task and being challenged at work. I’ve learned a lot about lead poisoning throughout my time here, as well as the real ways that public health work in Illinois and the challenges that go along with it. It has been so rewarding to be able to put all that I have learned in my global health classes at Northwestern into use at a health-focused internship. Learning by experience is so different from learning in a classroom and has given me a lot of valuable insight for the future. While I’m not sure I want to go into legislative health policy, I am so glad that I have gotten the experience to work in that area during my time at LCHJ. As a graduating senior currently looking for post-graduation employment, experiencing a possible career path has been very helpful in reaffirming my plans for my future in global health.