Global Health Studies celebrates 20 years
May 17, 2024
Written by Journalism and Global Health Studies student Taylor Hancock ('27)
In the fall of 2004, Dévora Grynspan and Founding Director William R. Leonard submitted a proposal for a seven-course Global Health Studies (GHS) Minor to Weinberg College of Arts & Sciences.
Today, the Global Health Studies program celebrates 20 years, now offering the minor and an adjunct major, and has graduated over 1,200 students who have pursued careers in various fields such as public health, business, law, and more.
To celebrate the milestone, the department hosted an alumni panel featuring Alex Lofton ‘07, Almita Miranda ‘08, Veena Sriram ‘06, and Daniel Wozniczka ‘10. As part of the panel, GHS Student Marshal Esther Ubadigbo moderated the conversation, asking questions to the panelists.
Ubadigbo’s final question, “Are you happy?” sparked inspirational stories and words of advice from the alumni.
“As you graduate and continue to move forward, your ambition is fantastic but don’t be too tunnel-visioned because you might miss out on some cool opportunities,” Wozniczka said.
Following Ubadigbo’s insightful question, Leonard shared the importance of trying new things, “This program exists because of being open to the possibilities,” Leonard said.
At its inception, Global Health Studies was not a common program in academia and started with one class titled, “International Public Health I,” a collaboration between Weinberg and the Feinberg School of Medicine. After the class began, three NU study abroad programs were formed in Mexico, China, and South Africa.
With these opportunities, Global Health Studies was the first Northwestern undergraduate program to require a Study Abroad experience. Each of the panelists participated in a study abroad program, Lofton attended the South Africa program, which he credited as a highlight of his time at Northwestern.
“Some of my closest connections are people that I met while I was abroad,” Lofton said, adding that “the network goes beyond this campus and all around the world.”
The panel was open to all Northwestern students and faculty and had an open Q&A portion to close. Rising senior Mia Vigil, a Global Health and Biology major on the pre-med track, said she enjoyed hearing the panelists’ candid advice.
“I really liked what the alumni said about pacing yourself,” “Knowing that it’s okay to pace yourself and take time to figure out what you’re passionate about was nice to hear,” Vigil said.
Although the Global Health Studies Program didn’t receive its first full-time faculty member until 2009, Elizabeth Barden, panelist Veena Sriram ‘06 applauded the department’s interdisciplinary staff.
“There’s this real sense of investment from the faculty and the staff to the students of this program,” Sriram said.
As a biology major, Ubadigbo’s typical coursework contained many STEM courses, she said adding global health provided more opportunity to explore the humanities behind the science.
“Since Global Health Studies is so integrated, I’ve been able to find my voice,” Ubadigbo said.
Josh Snodgrass, keynote speaker and director Leonard’s former advisee, reflected on Northwestern’s Global Health program and the field of global health celebrating the research progress over the last 30 years.
“As we’ve seen from this alumni panel, meaningful change comes and can be achieved through this amazing training in global health,” Snodgrass said.