Devin Stokes is a student that is pursuing a masters degree at John Hopkins university in her first year in the masters program of Healthcare Administration.

Devin became interested in public health when she began school at BYU in 2019. After taking a womens health class, she found that she was drawn to womens health and advocating for the rights and better healthcare of women. 

I want to go to med school, and I want to support womens health. So thats why I chose public health. Stokes said.

That drive to improve the lives of women and advocate for their rights and support womens health is what drove Devin to pursue a degree in public health that would lead her to currently being a student at Johns Hopkins.

Yet pursuing a masters degree in healthcare administration was not initially what Devin wanted to pursue. Initially when she joined the BYU Public Health program, she had the idea of pursuing medical school instead.

When she began taking classes in the program she ran into the more administrative aspects of public health and found it as a profession that called out to her more. She met with individuals such as Britt Barret, who oversaw the entire healthcare leadership program at BYU and realized she was well suited in a career in healthcare administration.

Her time in the BYU Public Health program was incredibly helpful for her when it came to viewing the business side of it through the lens of someone with a background in public health.

Stokes said, That helps me when as afuture administrator communicating with physicians since I can understand their background a little bit better than maybe someone who is just strictly a finance or accounting background.

Through that she realized something important to her was finding a program post undergrad that would fit her best.

Over the course of her final year at BYU, she worked heavily to make herself the best candidate for when she was applying for prestigious universities to pursue her masters degree. One of the ways that she found best to boost her profile was through her time being involved in BYU Public Healths programs.

She mentions, I was the president of the BYU Healthcare Leadership Association. That helped me to prepare for what Im doing now and made an appealing candidate for the school as well. I would say getting involved was a big deal for me in my transition as well.

Getting involved with internships early on also helped Devin quickly find some real work experience that was able to help her in her application to one of the most prestigious schools for public health.

Stokes participated in an internship at the Mayo Clinic which was helpful for her to see how public health and business were able to work together in healthcare leadership.

Her classes from both the public health side of BYU and the business side were heavily influential as well in helping her feel prepared for her transition to being in a masters degree at Johns Hopkins. The most important thing for her was her network.

One of the ways Devin was able to grow as a student and as a potential candidate was growing through her network and finding opportunities through the people that she was able to connect with.

Whether it was through talking about experiences, or what the correct career moves or school to pursue, these were essential connections for Devin to establish as a student in her undergrad.

Stokes emphasized, A network and a solid foundation has been really important in the transition from going to a bachelors to a masters degree.

When looking back at her time at BYU she found that it was one of great enjoyment and one that prepared her well for her post undergrad career.

Stokes concluded with, enjoy the classes the readings matter, the work matters, you get out what you put into it enjoy the ride, always say your prayers, do the work and it always works out.

After finishing high school, Sydney Clark didnt fully know the route that she wanted for her career path. After spending a year attending Utah State and then transferring to BYU, she found that what interested her most was Public Health after taking an introductory course to the program.

With that newfound experience, she realized that being in public health was something she cared about deeply and found joy in.

The longer she learned and interacted with the major, the more excited she became for individual classes and finding where she felt valued and able to contribute to Public Health.

Clark was able to find her place through mentored research and creating a deep relationship with some of the professors who played a large role in how she was able to keep on moving forward when the major presented its more difficult moments.

I feel like being able to build relationships with different professors has helped me a lot. Theyve been able to give me advice as to how to move forward and how to keep learning. Theyve been able to motivate me to keep going. Clark explained.

Because of the support of her classmates and professors, Clark was able to move forward with a belief that she would be able to find opportunities that would be incredible to her personal development.

One of the most significant moments she experienced as a public health student was when she presented at the BYU CURA conference in October 2025. A large conference focused on showcasing research from students all around the state.

After presenting at such a prestigious event, she found that pushing herself outside of class with projects that she was able to work on made her fall in love with her major even more.

Some of the projects that she was able to work on outside of her normal coursework was doing high-level research with professors and learning how to analyze data, while learning new tools and skill sets that pushed her further than she thought possible.

A major obstacle that she didnt expect was finding her place in the major and where she fits exactly in the world of public health. Through talking with other students and professors, she has found that its nice to have support from other classmates who have similar fears as they venture into the workforce.

For Clark, the largest reminder of her time at BYU Public Health has been one of connection. Through reaching out to other students and professors, she was able to try things she wasnt sure she would enjoy and found a major that challenged her and was rewarding.

Sydney concluded, Be willing to try things that are outside of your comfort zone and take classes that maybe you wouldnt originally want to take and put yourself in those places to grow.

Clark continues to prepare for graduate school, where she hopes to take her interest in learning and growing as a person as she goes to help elevate the public health field with her stellar work.

Willow Snow started at BYU hoping to go into occupational therapy. When looking for a degree that would line up with that goal she found the prerequisite classes for Environmental and Occupational health worked well with her classes she would be taking.

This led to Snow majoring in Public Health and focusing on the emphasis of Environmental and Occupational Health.

When she began working in the industrial field with people she found how much she loved the fulfillment she gained from working in the public health field.

When asked what her favorite part of the major was and the emphasis that continued to drive her, The biggest thing is the people who you get to work with and help in environmental and occupational health.

Snows love for occupational health is an aspect of her education that directly impacted the quality of her schooling.

One of the largest pieces of advice she had was how to enjoy it while you are there. You are constantly learning when we are in these classes, and we never know what is something interesting that can be applied in your career further down the line.

Find a way to be interested in what it is even if its Chem 105, and you're not having fun.

Classes can be difficult and challenging. Yet when you are being pushed, and you are able to still take the time to enjoy it, you are able to appreciate the class and learn more.

Snow said it was essential to her that she found enjoyment in the harder classes. She stated, I know for me in some of my classes that were more difficult. I stopped enjoying what I was learning, and then I learned less.

Every opportunity was a way that Snow was able to learn and to be able to use experiences to become a better industrial hygienist. Even if it was from a moment in or out of the classroom that she didnt expect.

When applying for jobs or opportunities a huge aspect of the success she has found in her career is applying for things that students dont feel qualified for.

Students usually underestimate how far they are able to go. Snow felt that as well. She said that is something she would tell to other students. Dont be afraid to apply to things. Sometimes I feel like I was underqualified for positions that I was applying for, but I got further than I thought I would.

Take time to look for experiences you are going to want to be experienced in the field that you are going into. When you are you stage a huge leg up in the Public Health and specifically the Environmental and Occupational Health industry.

Snow found internships and study abroad opportunities were large moments that pushed further into her career. Gaining experience being a large aspect of how she better understands her place in the Public Health workforce.

I went on a research project to Nepal in February and I think that just really opened my eyes to the possibilities that you can do with this degree and the kinds of people you can help with your major.

For Snow that was finding her future career lied into the Industrial Hygiene industry. Where she continues to work in helping the world become a healthier and safer place with her working in it.

Caroline Olsen is a public health student at BYU who first began as a biochemistry major. After a few months of doing biochemistry, she found that it wasnt a field that she was interested in leading her life in.

With this newfound knowledge, she looked into how she could enter the medical field and find a degree that would allow her to pursue medical school.

After talking to her mom, who was also a doctor, Olsen considered switching her major to public health for her undergrad degree.

Olsen explained, So my second semester I took the intro to public health class and I love it. And then I switched my major.

She wanted to go into the medical field, but didnt know how to take that step. That led her to finding her environmental and occupational health lined up with her goals of prerequisites for medical school.

What it showed her is that she really loved working with people in the medical field. Olsen explained, I really do love looking at health from the upstream rather than from the problem itself.

Olsen saw that she loved working with people. She found that it was something that she cared about, and it gave her motivation to stick with public health through the hard moments.

School is tough and so the most important thing is just to choose things that you really love.

Her passion for public health has allowed her to be able to prepare herself for med school knowing that she is able to work through extreme difficulties and setbacks.

She never wanted to do schooling that was just checking a box for herself. She wanted to find a career and major that would allow her to continue her dream of entering the medical field and helping individuals live a better life.

Public health ended up being that opportunity to find a way to make a tangible difference in her community through her schooling. It also prepared her for being able to work in the medical field by better understanding the root causes of medical issues.

Gaining her degree in public health and preparing herself for medical school with her applications has never felt like a chore and gave Olsen the confidence that she was doing what she was always meant to do.

The whole point of life is youre not trying to do things to check a box. Youre doing things to learn and experience and grow and become the person you want to be.

BYU Students Host Local Anti Trafficking Fundraising Event

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February 04, 04:14 PM June 01, 12:21 PM

Public Health students from Tanner Crandalls HLTH 461 class hosted Heal EX, who brought attention to the class and the mission of the organization, Heal EX. An organization focused on preventing and healing human trafficking.

The class being inspired led to them wanting to do something to help spread awareness. The idea was to band together and to help create a fundraiser.

The students in the class would work on creating the event during class but went above and beyond in making an event that would cause a real change.

One of the students, Hannah Stansbury, said, We got some time in class to brainstorm ideas and after that a lot of us would just stay after class and plan.

The team wanted to provide a screening of the documentary that Heal EX had created. The goal: to bring as much awareness to anti-child trafficking and to create a fundraiser event for Heal EX.

Students beforehand sent out flyers alongside setting up a booth in the BYU Wilkinson Center to help raise awareness two days before the event.

Karinn McMullin, another student, mentioned, We just kept talking to people. It was mainly by word of mouth. That was the biggest asset.

The event was a hit with the team putting on an incredible screening of the Heal EX documentary. It was able to inspire over 2,000 dollars worth of donations towards Heal EX and helping individuals who have been impacted by human trafficking.

At the event, Stansbury mentioned, I just kind of told people, hey if this is something that impacted you, consider donating 5 dollars for a hygiene kit and this is what its going to.

The class was able to gain 1,200 dollars in kind donations, alongside 1,000 dollars in monetary donations from the event alone.

For the class, from preparing the event with only two weeks of planning, they were able to achieve an event that had such a positive and practical impact on their local community.

McMullin mentioned, I think it was cool for our class to see were able to put on an event that brought so many donations and just spread awareness like that. It was super cool.

The team afterward saw an impact with how in their individual lives they saw more of an interest and awareness of marginalized groups, whether it was through conversations with friends or family or the large attention through social media.

The students saw that their effort had created a ripple effect in their community that caused an actual change.

The students at the event also hosted a Heal EX mobile clinic for the event to be filled with physical donations of food and clothing. The team was shocked to see the response the community had with how many donations they were given.

At the end of the event when I did see the mobile clinic just filled to the brim with donations, I was so happy. My heart was exploding with happiness, McMullin said.

Public Health students with only a little bit of time had created an impact on the community so large that they knew it would be having a beneficial impact for the following year.

Through the success of this event and the incredible funds that it was able to raise, the team hopes that this shows other students the positive impact they can have on those around them.

The students in Dr. Crandall's class hope that other students will be able to host an event that can make a positive impact on a part of the local community that they have an interest in.

I know we were the first class to do it, but Im hoping that his next class will also put on an event like this, McMullin said. Hopefully we can just keep doing steps like this to spread awareness and help people.

By working together as a group, this group of students was able to make a real differential impact that inspires others in the community to do better. One ripple of kindness and service birthing another. Showing the power and purpose of public health.

Stansbury concluded about why the event meant so much to her, saying, I think the reason we wanted people to come was because it would impact them so when we decided to go step outside of our comfort zone and really do something about the issues we care about it really does have ripple effects and creates a way larger positive impact than we would imagine.