Global Health Fellows
Dartmouth offers several certificates for students, and with my interest in the pre-health world, I applied to the Global Health Fellows program and was accepted this fall. The program lasts one academic year, and in order to gain the certificate, students must attend a weekend retreat, 7 events, as well as one community service project.
The program, along with most Dartmouth programs, is extremely flexible for students because of the D-Plan. Because students can be gone for several terms in a year, the program allows students to finish the program in a minimum of two terms.
I did the retreat in the winter, and I learned a lot not only from the program director, but also from other students. The program is open to undergraduate students as well as MPH (Masters in Public Health), medical and PhD students, meaning I was able to glean information from students at many different levels of education and expertise in the health world.
For the service project, I was able to apply my work with the SIBS Dartmouth Center for Social Impact program. Because my little SIB and I discuss things like mental health, the program director counted it for the service.
For the 7 different events, I have done a variety of programming to fulfill this. Most Tuesday nights, the Dickey Center brings in a speaker that is a Dartmouth alumnus or has a connection to the broader Dartmouth community through the global health field. A bonus: every speaker has a free catered dinner!
Though I have enjoyed every speaker, several have stood out to me in particular. A representative from the CDC came to talk to us about job opportunities, which resonated with me as a potential job path! I also relished the chance to hear from the former Kosovo president, Atifete Jahjaga, about her experience as a female leader and responding to health crises. Because the Jahjaga talk was capped at 8 students, I also had the opportunity to talk one-on-one with her!
Overall, the Dickey Center's Global Health Fellows program has been an incredible opportunity for me!