Devin Stokes is a recent BYU Public Health graduate who sat down to talk about the moments that mattered most to her as a public health student and how she was able to attend John Hopkins university.
Devin Stokes is a student that is pursuing a master’s degree at John Hopkins university in her first year in the master’s program of Healthcare Administration.
Devin became interested in public health when she began school at BYU in 2019. After taking a women’s health class, she found that she was drawn to women’s health and advocating for the rights and better healthcare of women.
“I want to go to med school, and I want to support women’s health. So that’s why I chose public health.” Stokes said.
That drive to improve the lives of women and advocate for their rights and support women’s 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 master’s 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 a…future 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 master’s degree. One of the ways that she found best to boost her profile was through her time being involved in BYU Public Health’s programs.
She mentions, “I was the president of the BYU Healthcare Leadership Association. That helped me to prepare for what I’m 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 master’s 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 bachelor’s to a master’s 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.”