Ģ����ý

For Jocelyn Florez �25, public health isn�t just a major � it a calling. Through dedication and hard work, the Ģ����ý senior has blessed everything she touched and is looking forward to a dynamic and fulfilling career.

As a Newton, North Carolina native and dual-enrollment student at Bandys High School, Florez had the opportunity for scholarships through Ģ����ý Scholars program, which led her to stay close to home and attend Ģ����ý. �Home is very important to me. I have a younger brother and sister, and my mom is a single mom. I didn�t want to leave them.�

Initially, she had plans of being a nursing major, but quickly realized it wasn�t the right fit. �I said, �I don�t think I want to be a nurse. I can�t do the clinical part of it,�� Florez explained. �I�m very much an administrative person. I�m analytical and like organization.�

Public health offered the perfect combination of skillsets for Florez. �Nursing focuses on tertiary prevention � essentially treating you once you�re already sick. Public health, on the other hand, focuses on primary prevention, like vaccinations and healthy eating, and secondary prevention, like screenings to catch diseases early,� she said.

Florez draws this contrast with an analogy: �It like standing at the bottom of a river, where people are drowning. Nurses and clinical teams are pulling them out, treating them. But public health goes upstream to figure out why they�re falling in the first place.�

Leading the charge
Now in the home stretch of her academic career, Florez is making a difference in many important ways. Last year, she helped plan Ģ����ý annual blood drive, highlighting the importance of evaluation in public health. �Evaluation is a big part of what we do,� she said. �If something isn�t effective, we figure out why. Maybe there wasn�t enough signage, or the location was inconvenient.�

This fall, she has worked on campus health initiatives including a social media safety campaign, a flu clinic, and childhood obesity prevention through the Solmaz Institute at Ģ����ý. In the spring semester she plans to extend her work beyond campus with an internship exploring ways to further impact youth health.

�A lot of people interact with public health without realizing it,� she shared while stating that a great example is vaccine promotion as the field core mission is to promote health equity rather than just equality. �Equity means tailoring resources to meet people needs � whether it addressing social issues, environmental factors, or economic barriers,� she explained.

�It great that Ģ����ý provides free flu shots because most college students, if you ask for $40, they�re going to say, �What?�� she explained. �If you don�t think something will happen to you, you won�t take steps to prevent it. But when you tell people 200,000 college students get the flu every year, they start to think, �Oh, maybe I should get my flu shot.��

The road ahead

While Florez has excelled academically � enrolling in Ģ����ý Accelerated Master Program for a dual MPH/MBA � she not rushing what comes next. �I don�t want to burn out. I might pass the classes, but I want to do well and really reap the opportunities.�

Her advice for future students? Explore. �Take different gen-ed classes, use the Career Center, and keep an open mind,� she urged. �I never thought I�d be in public health, but it turned out to be everything I�ve ever wanted.�