Sydney Clark talks about her time being in the Public Health program and her time navigating and thriving in the health promotion emphasis.
After finishing high school, Sydney Clark didn’t 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. They’ve been able to give me advice as to how to move forward and how to keep learning. They’ve 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 didn’t 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 it’s 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 wasn’t 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 wouldn’t 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.