Cassidy Weaver - Class of 2023

I'm from St. George, Utah and served a mission in Calgary, Canada. I did my undergraduate in Public Health with a minor in Sociology at BYU before continuing at BYU for my MPH. I met my husband when we were both students and we're currently living in Provo and enjoying life with our rescue pup, Ruthie. Since graduating from the MPH program, I've started two new part-time jobs and prepared to apply for Ph.D. programs.

I'm currently working multiple part-time jobs, some more closely related to my MPH degree than others. I love the diversity of experiences I get to have by being involved with multiple organizations. I work for UVU as an adjunct professor in their Community Health department, at the BYU Wheatley Institute as their Event Coordinator and as the Community Engagement Partner for Living Room Conversations, a non-profit organization I became acquainted with during my MPH program. Because my long-term goal is to become a university professor, my adjunct professor position is the most closely related to the work I plan to do, and I love teaching. My other two positions, while not directly related to my long-term goals, have provided me with tremendous experience and I've loved the connections I've gained from them.

I utilize the knowledge, skills, and experience I gained during my MPH degree regularly in my positions. For one of my positions, I'm currently working on a grant proposal, directly utilizing what I learned in my Community Building class about grant writing. To be successful as a professor I've learned it's important to be attentive and committed to my students and be competent and confident in what I'm teaching. I seek to model my teaching after professors I've had in the MPH program who were most impactful to me.

I attribute my positions with UVU, Living Room Conversations and the Wheatley Institute to my experience in the MPH program and my master's degree. I was introduced to LRC during my MPH program when I worked with professors Jeff Glenn and Cougar Hall on a research project utilizing the LRC conversation model to introduce facilitated conversations to the BYU campus community.

I will forever be grateful for my experience in the BYU MPH program not only because of the job experiences it has provided me with, but also because of the friendships I have gained through it and the support I received from professors encouraging me to pursue further education.

My #1 advice to current MPH students is to take advantage of the wonderful professors involved in the program. They are so kind and willing to help you have a positive experience in the program. Some of the greatest experiences I had during my time at BYU were working with professors on research projects outside of specific coursework.