Kelly Jacob is a sophomore Biology major with a minor in the HMS program and Spanish. After graduation she plans to attend graduate school to earn her masters in Physician Assistant Studies. She plans to focus on medicine, mental health, neuroscience and nutrition. The HMS program at Lehigh has allowed Kelly to explore these specific interest and expand her knowledge in all of these areas.
“The HMS program has helped me to develop a highly well-rounded curriculum and given me the opportunity to explore topics I may have not otherwise encountered in my core science classes. I love the HMS program because it provides students of all majors the ability to explore a variety of topics in health, which are applicable in all fields.”
Emily Beaman is currently a Junior at Lehigh University majoring in Behavioral Neuroscience and minoring in the HMS Program. She has always wanted to work with people as both a leader and volunteer and this shows as she is a Big Sister for the Big Brother Big Sister program of Lehigh Valley. After spending time over the summer conducting biomedical research, Emily realized she wanted to work more with people and is now planning to get her master’s in public health after graduating from Lehigh. The minor program has helped her find interests in public health and inspire me to pursue a career in health.
“My Medicine & Society class I took last fall with Judith Lasker was really interesting and taught me a lot about our own healthcare system and how it compares to other countries. I learned so much through this class that I had never known before and it's really widen my horizons on what careers I could pursue in medicine than just pursuing a career as a doctor.”
Leah Holmes is a junior at Lehigh currently majoring in Psychology and minoring in the HMS program. After graduation, Leah plans to go to physical therapy school to earn her DPT. The HMS program and classes offered helped her prepare for what she plans to pursue after graduation. She found the health care politics and introduction to public health class extremely interesting, and inspired her to pursue a career in health and medicine. The classes provided her with great insight on health care disparities in the US and other countries.
“I enjoyed my Health Care politics class especially because I plan on working in the health field and it provided me with an understanding of how insurance companies, hospitals, and other public health institutions operate. The HMS program made the most of my experience at Lehigh because it provides a lot of interesting classes for students like me, planning on going into the public health field.”
Casey Colangelo is a senior Biology major and currently minoring in the HMS program. She have aspirations of becoming a Physician Assistant and will be applying to PA schools come April 2016. The HMS minor has helped her take what she learns in her Biology classes and apply it to real life. Casey finds that studying the two in conjunction with one another has really prepared her for entering a career in the medical field. She has thoroughly enjoyed each class given by the HMS program and highly recommends it for anyone interested in a health related profession.
“I immediately fell in love with HMS beginning with my Medicine and Society class, which gave me the opportunity to help the local Bethlehem community while also providing me with a solid introduction to public health issues plaguing the nation. I then went on to take the Women and Health class taught by Professor Hicks. That class inspired me to want to work as a PA in Obstetrics and Gynecology.”
Dean Granot is a Senior dual degree candidate graduating with a BS in Behavioral Neuroscience and a second BS in Psychology with an HMS minor. He also works in a neuro-endocrinology lab at mountaintop. He plans to matriculate into medical school for the class of 2020 where he wants to pursue a career working with the Central Nervous System.
“My HMS minor has been extraordinarily influential on my decision to go to medical school because the HMS program has found a wonderful balance between literature study, out-of-classroom experience and interpersonal skill building. Overall, declaring a minor in HMS has become one of the most positive decisions that I have made during my time at Lehigh.”
Devika Gupta is a Senior at Lehigh University majoring in Biology and minoring in the HMS program. She plans on taking a year off after graduation before pursuing medical school. The HMS program has been a great way for her to not only take classes based on health, but also have opportunities to fund her clinical research in India this past summer. She was able to apply many of the concepts she learned in my Global Health Issues class with Professor Lasker last spring during her research abroad.
“I love that the HMS program provides a holistic view to health today and incorporates elements of sociology and anthropology within medicine. I feel that these topics are very important to the future of medicine and I’m glad that I was able to gain this perspective through the program.”
Katie MacLachlan is a Senior and Global Studies major with Spanish and Health Medicine and Society minors. Her passion for public health has blossomed through the HMS program, inspiring her to travel, with the university's support, to Tanzania, Vietnam, South Africa and Argentina, where her research and projects focused on public health in community health development internationally. The minor has helped her merge her dedication of advocacy work in women's empowerment and children's development with community health policies and inspired her to pursue an MPH after she takes a gap year to work abroad or with migrant populations in community health.
"The HMS minor strengthened my Global Studies major and gave me context to the work I want to pursue. Public Health is a critical topic around the world and learning about it has enabled me to deepen the meaning of my academics and heighten my understanding of health and culture globally."