Where are you now? What are you doing, and what does your work involve?
I'm currently a Master of Public Health student at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health. I'm focusing on health communication and advocacy, and my time is mostly filled with assignments! This summer, I'm working as an intern for the Southeast Arizona Area Health Education Center (SEAHEC) and the Development Intern for the Unity Consortium.
How have you drawn on your experience in the Writing Center since graduating?
Beyond the technical skills I've learned as a part of the Writing Center, I've regularly drawn on the communication and interpersonal skills I've developed. As someone hoping to go into public health, I've valued the need for genuine relationships and collaborations with the people and communities I work with, a skill I've definitely learned and practiced at the Writing Center. Additionally, I've also frequently drawn upon my experience of communicating content accessibly and recognizing aspects of power and privilege in the type of work I want to do. I think the Writing Center had prepared me for working with a wide range of people and understanding what I bring when I come into a project or partnership.
How did you come to your current position? What have you done since graduating?
I applied during my senior year, so I've been working towards my MPH since graduation.
What role does writing have in your daily life and work?
I write every day! This past year, I've had a lot of writing assignments, from essays to op-eds to needs assessments. Even this summer during my internship, I still find myself utilizing the writing skills I've learned in the Writing Center. It's been amazing to be writing so much because I've really found myself identifying and developing the type of voice I want to have in (hopefully!) published content. I've also been fortunate to expand my writing skills to communicating through social media, brochures, and other non-academic content! It's been a long journey in figuring out how to make my written work dynamic, informative, and accessible.
What’s something you’ve learned about writing that you’d like to share with Haverford writers?
There is no such thing as a bad draft! I think that's probably one of the most important things about writing that I've learned as a writer at Haverford and in the Writing Center. It's very easy to think there are absolutely no ideas to be had or any original content to be written, but I've found that lowering the impossibly high standards I've set for a "perfect" first draft and writing anything (even just bullet points or a single sentence I'd like to include somewhere) is the best way to start. Nothing will ever be perfect, especially not drafts. Getting over that obstacle and being okay with sharing or submitting "bad" drafts is still a great start to brainstorming and delving deeper into interesting ideas.