Two Cornell MPH students, Avni Patel, MPH ’22, and Seb Loonen, MPH ’22, have been selected to attend the Cornell in Washington (CIW) program for the 2022 Spring semester. As students in the program, they will spend time in the nation’s capital learning about the intersection of policy and public health first-hand, while honing skills to shape policies that reflect the public health needs of communities.
The Cornell in Washington program’s unique structure allows students from across Cornell to engage with experts in many fields of study, while spending the semester in Washington DC, exploring academic, professional development, and community engagement opportunities.
Avni Patel is a student in the Food Systems & Health concentration. Her focus is on examining differential state policy outcomes in response to COVID-19-related disparities. During her time in the MPH Program, she has worked with the Cornell Center for Health Equity creating a racial equity training for the Weill School of Medicine’s faculty and staff. She has also recently worked as an Adolescent Sexual Health Intern for the National Coalition of STD Directors. “This role gave me the opportunity to understand the implementation of national-level public health efforts,” says Patel. “I’m looking forward to the Cornell in Washington program and expanding my understanding of policy and public health while getting hands-on experience through an internship.”
Patel hopes to pursue a career in health policy that allows her to work towards a more equitable health system.
Seb Loonen is a student in the Infectious Disease Epidemiology concentration. His focus throughout his studies has been on the intersection of public health and politics. “I am very excited to be in Washington DC over my last semester in the Master of Public Health Program because politics and public health are fields that must go hand in hand,” said Loonen. “The MPH Program teaches us all of the practical skills of public health, such as the One Health framework and program design, but if there is no political will to implement these plans and frameworks, necessary public health interventions will fail to come to fruition. Bringing these fields together is what I hope to learn in Washington DC”
Loonen hopes to pursue a career working with physicians to provide better standards of care for patients in the US, especially historically marginalized populations.
Written by Katie Lesser and Zoe Wakoff