Aaron Meacham - Class of 2007

In between my first and second years of the MPH program, I interned for the Church's Humanitarian Services Division. I worked part-time for Humanitarian Services on and off for a couple of years before I was hired full-time. I worked for Humanitarian Services for about 10 years with the Maternal and Newborn Care, Vision Care, Emergency Response, and Immunization Initiatives. While working full-time with Humanitarian Services, I also worked on my PhD in Public Health from the University of Utah.

Almost 7 years ago I moved to BYU-Idaho as a faculty member teaching Public Health courses. In addition to teaching, I'm also serving as the program director for the Applied Health program that is available to students who go through BYU-Pathway Worldwide. Additionally, for the past 5 years, I have worked as an evaluator for the Salmon Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition.

The thing I love about Public Health and the positions I've had is the opportunity to impact the lives of others for good.

I believe there are a number of hard skills and soft skills that are important. Some hard skills that have benefitted me include: Excel, SAS, PowerPoint, data analysis, research, writing, communication, budgeting, program management, and many others. Some soft skills I am still working on and believe are important include: grit, perseverance, teamwork, patience, empathy, organization, critical thinking, and problem solving, among others.

I loved my experience in the BYU MPH program! It was challenging, but I learned a lot. I feel like I developed a number of important skills that have opened doors for me throughout my career. The connections and mentorship from professors have been invaluable.