Growing up, Kenna Desai traveled to India with her family every summer. But in the summer of 2018, between the usual fun of visiting relatives and sampling local specialties, she interned with United Way of Baroda, a nonprofit organization in the Indian state of Gujarat. Her research into anganwadis, or preschools, gave her her first exposure to the world of public health.
“I created data analysis reports on things like vaccination rates, sanitation at facilities, access to literacy resources, and more,” Desai says. “I loved working with these people and learning about their health.”
Desai, now a senior majoring in public health and international business, said her classes at UT have helped her learn about health from a more holistic perspective.
For their Global Health in Action course, Desai and her group worked with the Nicaraguan nonprofit Project Schoolhouse to provide educationally and culturally appropriate worksheets to support their after-school programs focused on literacy. With additional funds from a University Co-op course materials scholarship for one of her group members, her group purchased school supplies to be sent to Project Schoolhouse.
“Global health is something that I’m very interested in, especially as an international business and public health major,” Desai said.
After graduation, Desai hopes to attend medical school and get involved in advocacy and the business side of healthcare in addition to providing clinical care.
“Public health has helped prepare me to look at medicine from a broader perspective than just the clinical and scientific aspects,” Desai said. “Majoring in public health allows me to apply a lot of what I learn in class to my daily life and learn about issues that affect the country and the world.”
Desai said his business degree will help him hone the soft skills to succeed in the medical field, and that his majors complement each other.
“You learn how to be confident during presentations, which you'll need in the rounds,” Desai says. “You'll be more comfortable reaching out to experts and making connections within the industry.”
This summer, Desai combined her passion for public health with her other interests by traveling to Ireland funded by a Presidential Global Learning Award.
“There was a war in Northern Ireland in the 1980s and 1990s known as 'The Troubles' that left a lot of people living today with PTSD, and our project looks at what people are doing now to help them recover from that,” Desai said. “I'm looking at trauma-informed design in clinics and hospitals, and how connections with nature, colour and space are being used to create healing environments for patients and employees.”
Desai has been exploring the various programs offered at the University of Texas, but her interest lies in public health.
“I think public health students are unique in that they came into this path with a genuine desire to serve their community and make a difference from a health care perspective,” Desai said, “and I’m grateful for that empathetic background and desire to make an impact.”
Listen to another Public Health student:
Arvind Subramanian
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