Hayley Poffenberger graduated from the 4+1 public health program at Brigham Young University in April, with an emphasis in health promotion and an ambition to create change.
She discovered the program after a young women’s leader shared her experience in public health. On a whim, Poffenberger dove into the field. Now, she is graduating from the program with countless experiences and big dreams.
Poffenberger enjoyed multiple classes, research projects, and internships during her time in the program. Among these, her research with Dr. Ali Crandall in family health stands out. Her work is not yet published, but she is excited to see the study bring changes to communities across the country.
“Doing research was probably one of my favorite parts of being in the public health program,” she said. “I was able to do a lot of cool things, like presenting at conferences and presenting at the APHA and UPHA.”
Beyond research, Poffenberger created change through an internship with Emergency Management at BYU. There, she worked to ensure that preventative and medical equipment was distributed across the university, including AEDs, evacuation chairs, and incident plans.
She also interned with the International Rescue Committee, where she worked with refugees to help them navigate the healthcare system in the U.S. To do this, Poffenberger taught a series of three health classes and transported refugees to weekly medical appointments.
While Poffenberger noted that everything she has learned from the public health program will propel her into the work field, she also said that the information can be applied to all aspects of her life.
“It’s been really great for me to learn things for my future family and how I can build healthier habits and stronger relationships,” she said.
Now, Poffenberger is looking for a job that is the right fit. Although she doesn’t know exactly what it will be yet, she said that it would preferably be either a research or evaluation job with a focus on health communication.
“It has been really cool for me to see how much my skills can transfer to some of these jobs,” she said.
Whether or not that job is 100 percent public health related, Poffenberger knows that she will be able to transfer what she’s learned in the program to her future career.
Through it all, Poffenberger said that it wasn’t the classes or the late nights in the libraries that prepared her the most, but rather the real-life, hands-on experiences.
“I feel like what I got the most out of college wasn’t necessarily the classes themselves,” Poffenberger said. “The classes were great, but I got so much more out of having student jobs, working, getting to know my classmates, my professors, and attending university events.”
As Poffenberger moves on from BYU’s public health program, she leaves behind a legacy of passion and purpose and steps forward ready to create lasting change wherever she goes.
