Grace Hicks, a driven and passionate student from Plainfield, Indiana, is making strides in the field of public health as she pursues her major in epidemiology with a minor in health administration. Set to graduate in May 2025 from the IU Fairbanks School of Public Health, Hicks’s path to discovering her true calling in public health is a testament to exploration and finding purpose through experience.
Like many of her peers, Hicks didn’t start her college journey with public health in mind.
“I did what I think a lot of other Fairbanks students did, and I did not start in public health,” she reflects.
Initially, Hicks chose a clinical major, believing that it was the only route to a career in healthcare. However, her perspective began to shift during her first-year seminar, Exploring Health Professions. It was here that she was introduced to the Fairbanks School of Public Health, a moment that would change the course of her academic journey.
“I had never heard of epidemiology and didn’t know that it was something I could turn into a career,” she says. But after meeting with professionals in the field, as well as professors and advisors, Hicks made the bold decision to change her major in the second semester of her freshman year. “I never looked back,” she adds. Her decision to add a minor in health administration during her second year only strengthened her understanding of how these fields intersect, further fueling her passion for public health.
Hicks’s career aspirations are as dynamic as they are ambitious. “My career aspirations are always changing!” she admits, reflecting her eagerness to explore all aspects of public health. With plans to pursue graduate school, Hicks is excited about the prospect of diving deeper into specialized concentrations within the field. “Each class is specific to a concentration in public health and how it goes hand-in-hand with the rest,” she explains.
Her interests are broad, ranging from cancer prevention and research to infectious disease control—a field she is currently exploring through her internship at the Department of Health. “I have always wanted to work in cancer prevention and research, but I am currently doing an internship in infectious diseases at the Department of Health and am loving it!” she shares. Her major and minor have provided her with a strong foundation, setting her up for success both as a student and in her future career.
Hands-on experience in public health
Hicks’s journey at the Fairbanks School of Public Health has been enriched by valuable internships that have provided her with real-world experience. Her first internship was as a communications and project specialist at Fairbanks, working under Kris Schuster, the director for career development. In this role, she coordinated and moderated Indiana University Indianapolis alumni panels, worked on a weekly newsletter highlighting public health opportunities, and gained experience with data management by working on the back end of a database.
“During my outreach to alumni, I was able to connect and network to put my name out for the future,” she said, underscoring the importance of these connections.
In her role as an intern at the Indiana State Department of Health, Hicks serves as a student investigator in the Division of HIV/STI/Viral Hepatitis. This internship, part of the IN-SEIT program run through IU Indianapolis, has provided her with invaluable insights into how public health functions within the government.
“I have done community outreach, provided education on CDC guidelines to providers, and have done sexually transmitted infection testing in this role,” she says. Now in her second year as an intern, Hicks has taken on leadership roles, mentoring new interns and working on data projects related to the morbidity of STIs across the state. She has also become a certified disease intervention specialist for chlamydia and gonorrhea and is currently training in syphilis DI work.
Looking back on her college journey, Hicks is proud of how far she has come. “Seeing growth in not only myself, but my peers has truly been one of the best parts of my college journey,” she says.
Her growth as a student and as a future public health professional is evident, and she is excited about the opportunities that lie ahead.
As she continues to take courses that align with her passions and gain real-life experience in public health, Hicks is confident that she is on the right path.
“I am excited to see where it takes me!”
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