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Dear Students,
As 2022 heads into its second month, I hope it is not too late to say Happy New Year. Wishing all members of the OOMPH community, health and wellbeing in the new year.
I also want to start this note with a HUGE CONGRATULATIONS to our most recent graduates who completed their MPH degree in December 2021. We welcome, Eric Chan, Laura Craft, Lila Estrada, Alexandra Johnson, Joyce Juniega, Heeje Lee, Anna Liu, Camille Lu, Marisol Magana, Elizabeth Peterson, Mackenzie Price, Larissa Purnell, Avery Richards, Kareem South, Barbara Spangler, Hannah Steele, Clinton Tsang, Nancy Valesquez, Maurice Ways, Jordyn Wheeler-Lorance and Whitney Zamora to our growing alumni community of 550 members.
Spring 2022 marks the start of our 10 year anniversary celebrations. It was 10 years ago that our first cohort of students, shown below in their graduation day photo, enrolled and really began this program. I remember back at the time, reflecting that before these pioneers joined us, OOMPH was just an idea on paper. It was through their engagement that we became a real program. Each cohort of students has brought us to where we are today. Last week, I was interviewed as part of an oral history project organized by the Bancroft library on the Berkeley campus about our program, how it was the first to bring online education to the Berkeley campus and the impact it has had on the School, public health and off course all of our students past and present. I will be sure to share the final product with all of you.
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As I reflect on the early days of the program, I think of all we have learned and all we have created building on the pioneering work of faculty and our first students. In the early days, we did not have zoom, piazza or even bCourses. Our systems and pedagogy were in early days. It was through the constant striving to learn, grow and provide an educational opportunity that goes beyond what anyone else was doing for our students that has continued to pushed us. It was also through any number of bumps and bruises that we learned how to deliver Berkeley quality MPH training to working professionals across CA, the US and around the world.
While it is rewarding to have grown from an original 18 courses to now offering nearly 50 online courses, many of which have now been refined and taught for 10 years, we are still learning and growing as a program. We don’t always get everything right and we still subscribe to a model of continuous quality improvement. Just like with our first cohort of students, we approach this program as a collaboration between faculty, staff and students. Your feedback is as essential today as it was back in 2012. Feedback can take different forms including responses on mid-course surveys and course evaluations, but also can be through reaching out directly to me including scheduling a time to talk through your experiences and your recommendations (https://deborahkbarnett.youcanbook.me/).If you have feedback for a specific course, start with your instructor as your first point of contact.
I look forward to celebrating our 10 year anniversary with you all,
Deborah
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(Black History Month) Black Future Month from Ché Abram, Chief of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging
It’s Black History Month aka Black Future Month. This is the time of year where we take a step back to learn and celebrate the contributions of African peoples around the diaspora along with taking a leap forward to dream up more. ‘More’ was not a conversation I ever had growing up. My conversations were around comfortable survival. It was not until I listened to a BlackFemaleProject podcast episode titled Ignite Your Imagination, that I began to think about what ‘more’ means to me. One of the women in the podcast was asked this question, and like her, I cried:
“What would I be doing with my
life if I wasn’t spending all my days
fighting white supremacy?”
In February 2011, I launched a personal campaign to be intentional about what I did for Black History Month. Rather than make “New Year Resolutions,” I began making Black Future Month commitments: no meals outside my home, exercising consistently, planning community trips to the Museum of the African Diaspora (MoAD) in San Francisco, supporting small local Black owned businesses, and this year, my commitment is to finish reading all about love by bell hooks (see below). Each commitment was designed to have a positive long term impact on my present and future life.
Reflecting on my Black Future Month commitments, I realized I started to explore the concept of ‘more’ long before I knew it was a thing. This month we honor how many African peoples around the diaspora live lives of ‘more.’ You see this evidenced by those in our BPH community, such as Dr. Osagie Obasogie, Dr. Ndola Prata, and our student organization Black Advocates for Equity in Health.
Rather than my usual call to action, I want you to do something you have something you have longed to try. In an effort to encourage you, I have included some of my favorite things to do: museums, books, podcasts, virtual and in person events. This is not meant for you to do alone, lean into your community and experience ‘more’ through my Black Future Month recommendations OR create your own.
For the full message please visit this link.
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Important Dates and Deadlines:
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February 21, 2022, Academic & Administrative Holiday (President’s Day)
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February 25, 2022, Deadline to change grading option
Improved Student Gateway Website & Retirement of the Student Hub
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As part of our ongoing effort to improve the ways in which the program communicates important information to students, we are pleased to announce the launch of the new and improved Student Gateway website. While the look and feel of the site are mostly unchanged, you will notice that all of the information that previously lived in the Student Hub (i.e. the bCourses site that hosted program info) has now been transferred over. The Student Gateway is now your one-stop-shop for all program related information, including:
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Academic Planning Info: Course Catalog, Program Calendar, Required Books/Materials, Practicum, Summer Visits, Info for Graduating Students
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Student Services: Team Directory, Enrollment, Student Manual, Forms, Finances, Student Resources, Library Info, Orientation Info, Student Employment Opportunities
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Media Archive: Past Event Recordings/Materials, Past Newsletters
- The Student Hub is now retired. If you have any questions/concerns, please email oomph_admin@berkeley.edu.
Sarah Zyba, PHN Academic Advisor, on Leave
- Sarah will be out on leave from Feb 15, 2022 through late May. Evan vanDommelen-Gonzalez will be covering advising appointments for PHN students during this time. You can connect with Evan by email or by booking an appointment:
- evg48@berkeley.edu
- Schedule an appointment
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The Spring 2022 Comp Exam is currently underway! For Summer 2022 graduates, please stay tuned for the Summer Comp Exam dates and an invitation to the Summer 2022 Comp Exam Prep Group process in the coming weeks. | |
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Group Advising Sessions
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Please mark your calendars (or subscribe to the OOMPH Program Calendar bCal…see here for instructions) for the Spring 2022 Group Advising Sessions
- Health Policy & Management Concentration Session
- March 7th, 5-6pm
- Interdisciplinary and Public Health Nutrition Concentration Session
- March 8th, 5-6pm
- Session for Fall 2021 and Spring 2022 Admits (i.e. 1st Year students)
- March 9th, 6-7pm
- Epidemiology & Biostatistics Concentration Session
- March 10th, 5-6pm
- Stay tuned for more information…
Summer Visit 2022
We are excited to have the 2022 summer visit on the Berkeley campus this year! Your time with us will be a combination of community building activities, academic and career advising, program and anti-racism workshops, opportunities to meet with faculty, and social events. We will be hosting all these events at our Berkeley Public Health building, Berkeley Way West.
PHW200E HPM Breadth (required 1st year course)
- Course dates: May 9 - June 26, 2022
- Campus Visit dates: June 20 - June 24, 2022
- What to expect:
- June 20 - Arrival day including optional social & community building activities to honor Juneteenth and an afternoon welcome reception.
- Activities 9am - 5pm on June 21 - 24
- Lunch with HPM Faculty
- Optional social events after 5pm
PHW289 Interdisciplinary Seminar (required 2nd year course)
- Course dates: May 9 - June 26, 2022
- Campus Visit dates: June 2 - June 10, 2022
- What to expect:
- Activities 9am - 5pm on June 2 - 4 & June 6 - 9
- June 4 Family Picnic
- June 5 is a free day
- Activities 9am - 2pm on June 10
- Opportunities to have lunch with Faculty
- Optional social events after 5pm
A comprehensive guide for both Summer Visits will be posted to the Student Gateway in the coming days, so please keep an eye out.
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OOMPH Student Spotlight: Graduate Student Colloquium
We are looking forward to joining you for the upcoming summer-visits! A special OOMPH community event takes place during the second-year W289: Interdisciplinary Seminar: the Online MPH Graduate Colloquium.
The inaugural Online MPH Graduate Colloquium was held during the on-campus session of the Interdisciplinary Seminar in Summer 2017. It was a student-led effort and proved to be an incredibly rich learning experience. We have since dedicated time during W289 so all students can participate each year.
In Summer 2017, students defined the Online MPH Graduate Colloquium as a forum for graduate students to present their work to fellow students, faculty, and other community members and practice the skills of scholarship. The Colloquium format provides a collegial learning space to receive feedback, to exchange ideas about best practices, to learn about on-the-ground techniques for implementing public health initiatives with communities around the globe, and to practice applying the tools and frameworks you have learned in your courses to think critically and holistically about range of public health topics, methods, and interventions. The Colloquium is also an excellent opportunity to have a deeper understanding of our colleagues’ work and professional experience.
We are seeking four students to present this summer. Presentations can include research, peer review, practicum deliverables, intervention designs, public health program and policy initiatives, works in progress, and course-related projects or proposals implemented while in the program. If you are interested in presenting, please contact Evan directly for more details: evg48@berkeley.edu. We plan to finalize a list of presenters by May 1, 2022.
We look forward to hearing from you!
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Professional Opportunities
The below listings reflect recent opportunities, including those with upcoming deadlines. For additional opportunities, please log in to PHLEX and consider setting up a saved search to receive regular updates in your inbox! Questions? Email publichealthcareers@berkeley.edu.
Some new spring opportunities:
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March 2022 California 24th Annual CUPA Training Conference (Hazardous Material & Waste Management) (Remote), California CUPA Forum [Free Professional Development Training] Register by 2/11 (Open until filled)
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Spring 2022 Practicum (Literature Review) & Spring 2022 Practicum (Grant Research) (Remote), My Density Matters [Part-time/Practicum] Apply by 2/15
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SFDPH Neighborhood Vaccination Sites Evaluation Intern, SFDPH - San Francisco Department of Public Health [Part-time/Practicum] Apply by 3/1
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Oral Histories Interviewer, SFDPH - San Francisco Department of Public Health [Part-time/Practicum] Apply now! (Open until filled)
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Communications & Graphic Design Intern (Remote), Breast Cancer Action [Part-time/Practicum] Apply now! (Open until filled)
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Spring 2022 Environmental Health Intern, Breathe California of the Bay Area, Golden Gate, and Central Coast [Part-time/Practicum] Apply now! (Hiring Immediately)
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Graduate Assistant, Co-Governance and Community R&D Team, UC Berkeley Public Health Change Lab [Part-time] Apply now! (Hiring Immediately)
Some new flexible opportunities:
Some new employment opportunities:
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Threads of Impact
A student run Podcast series from the School of Public Health, University of California - Berkeley
Episode 5 Description:
Devina Fan, a 2011 UC Berkeley MPH alumni, joins us from the National Eye Institute in this episode. Devina is the Director of NEI’s National Eye health education program which is under the office of science communication public liaison and education at the NIH. Previous to her role at the NEI, Devina served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Peru where she worked with community leaders to address long-standing health issues, additionally she spent time in rural Guatemala as a global public health research fellow focusing on health and social behavior with Guatemalan field workers. Devina also worked at LA Care Health Plan, America’s largest public health plan where she oversaw the community health promoters program at the community outreach and engagement department.
If you have any questions or feedback, please email us at podcastquestions_sph@berkeley.edu
Together, let's explore the various dimensions of public health.
Link to Podcast
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Activate Your Practicum Search...Check out PHLEX & Apply Today!
“Casting your net wide” and “starting early” are some of the most common pieces of advice from MPH students when it comes to the practicum search! We encourage you to review PHLEX (‘flex’) for current practicum postings and consider setting up a saved search to be notified of new practicum listings as they get posted.
Tips for reviewing postings on PHLEX:
(1) Access Practicum opportunities
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Once logged into PHLEX, navigate to Job Postings on the left-side navigation pane.
- Utilize the filters to filter Type of Job and select Anytime MPH Practicum (130+ hours)
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(2) Review each posting for details, including expected duration, weekly time commitment, and (possible) compensation.
(3) Set up a saved search on PHLEX:
- Select "Job Listings" in the left navigation menu.
- Specify your filters. For example, we recommend selecting "Type of Job" > "Anytime MPH Practicum(130+ hours)" to be notified of any new postings in this category.
- At the bottom left of your screen, select “Turn on email alerts for this search”
- At the bottom right of your screen, select “My Saved Searches & Alerts” and then select the pencil icon to review you saved search settings. Assign it a name and indicate your preference for daily or weekly email notifications of new postings that meet your search criteria. You can have multiple saved searches at once.
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