Reflections of the Way Life Use To Be

Some of the key learning points that I've taken away include: knowing thy audience and critical thinking helps raise the bar for what works and doesn't work. The former is kind of crazy because before I was victim to assuming that it was easy to determine what the audience wanted. Very foolish on my part, I know. But, after taking 663, I realized that there is a lot more to understanding the audience. No assumptions can be made. The more people of your audience that you talk to, the better because it helps make the general consensus stronger. I'll definitely apply that my health career. Likewise, being critical of what I see in the media really gives me a new respect for the level of skill required to develop effective campaigns. It's important to be mindful and respectful to your TARGET audience and a little thinking outside of the box never hurt anyone either. The group project gave me a taste of both lessons.

When I grow up...

Though I’m not graduating until next year, the idea of what I’m going to do after graduation remains a prominent thought in my mind. I didn’t become a public health student for the love of money. Ideally, I would just love to do what I love to the point where my work didn’t feel like a job. Is that too much to ask for? Maybe not, but is it too much to ask for that my dream job come with a decent salary? I thought it was until most recently. Tuesday’s discussion on health careers really enlightened me on the array of options available to public health students. Each semester, it’s refreshing to know that I don’t have to limit myself to one box in public health, but in actuality, the sky is the limit. My dream job seems more tangible. There are a lot of opportunities out there, but if I’m going to make a difference in the public or private sector, I realize the ultimate key is showing that return of investment. We’re familiar with the expression, “Show me the money”. But, it’s often more about that. The customers and the sponsors ultimately want to see our ideas will make an impact. I’ll wrap this up, but social marketing is a great avenue to explore for those who are interested. It’s something new to Google ☺