Bella Ogurek ’23 is no stranger to hard work, and she thrives on a busy schedule. That’s a good thing given that she’s a licensed emergency medical technician, a graduate assistant for Safe Redbirds Ambassadors, and she teaches CPR through Environmental Health and Safety. She accomplishes all that while pursuing a master’s degree in the new, fully online master of public health (M.P.H.) program, which prepares students to become leaders in the public health sector.
Ogurek, 21, minored in public health while earning her bachelor’s in communication studies from the School of Communication. She is part of the inaugural cohort, which began with the fall term of 2023. She’s not sure yet what path she’ll choose when she finishes her degree in the spring of 2025, but she’s figuring it out.
“I like community outreach, so I’m hoping to combine education with public health and safety,” Ogurek said.
She gained some experience last summer when she worked back home at the Countryside Fire Protection District, where her father is a firefighter. She taught CPR there as well and participated in outreach events that focused on health and safety.
“I loved engaging with people about public education,” she said. “I also got to hop on the ambulance or the truck and go on calls when they asked me.”
Dr. Jackie Lanier, professor of Health Sciences, said starting the program had been in the planning stages for a while.
“We saw the need for more public health professionals to meet the growing challenges in our communities. This need became even more evident during the COVID-19 pandemic. The M.P.H. program will help remedy this growing deficit and prepare future public health leaders.”
Dr. Jackie Lanier
“We saw the need for more public health professionals to meet the growing challenges in our communities,” Lanier said. “This need became even more evident during the COVID-19 pandemic. The M.P.H. program will help remedy this growing deficit and prepare future public health leaders.”
Lanier said a list of potential jobs open to graduates includes research coordinator, disease program coordinator, public health consultant, data or research analyst, epidemiologist, environmental health coordinator, health care analyst, community health educator, public health case manager, emergency preparedness coordinator, and health policy analyst. Lanier said those career opportunities may trend upward with the M.P.H. degree.
“With an increased skill set in epidemiology, health policy, biostatistics, leadership, and research methods, students are able to take on leadership roles in public health,” she said.
Ogurek is just about through her first four 8-week core courses—Epidemiology, Public Health Systems, Environmental Health, and Principles of Emergency Management—and she’s pleased so far with how things have gone.
“It’s a lot of work, but I love the classes,” Ogurek said. “I like having some say in what I’m learning about. For example, I chose my topics for Epidemiology (descriptive analysis of a stroke) and for Public Health Systems I chose long-term care facilities.”
Her favorite class so far has been Principles of Emergency Management taught by Eric Hodges, director of Emergency Management.
“It was real-world experience where we built a mini tabletop exercise for a wildfire,” she said.
She added that all her teachers have been great and very accessible. Lanier taught Epidemiology and is her academic advisor.
“I really appreciate how she’s been so helpful through my entire process of applying and answering all my questions,” she said.
Lanier said that graduates of the program can expect to enhance their abilities and skills to effectively address complex health problems such as chronic disease, health care access, mental health, and health equity.
“For many undergraduates, earning an M.P.H. can serve as a steppingstone for career growth and enhanced economic opportunity,” she said.
