New Officers Elected For Public Health Student Organizations

The University of Illinois at Chicago School of Public Health student body has elected new officers for its Public Health Student Association and Minority Students for the Advancement of Public Health.

The 2009-2010 officers of PHSA are Kendall Ziegler (President), Heather Limper (Vice President), Hua Wei (Secretary) and Suraj Panthi (Treasurer).

New officers for MSAPH are Gandarvaka Gray (President), Rayna Brown (Vice President), Llade Akintunde (Secretary), Brittney Lilly (Treasurer) and Iman Martin (Conference Chair).

PHSA and MSAPH members, past and present, say in addition to enhancing their resumés, becoming involved in student organizations improves their college experience.

“Student organizations are an ideal way for graduate students to apply real-world skills that are valuable to public health, including event planning, budgeting, and professional networking with peers, faculty, and alumni,” said Adrienne Dellinger, former vice president of PHSA.”

Suraj Panthi, a second-year MS student in environmental and occupational health sciences, will be serving his second term as a PHSA officer.

“I was co-secretary for PHSA last year,” he said. “And I decided to be a part of it again this year, because it was fun working together with fellow students, faculty and staff.”

Panthi is also actively involved in community public health research, working with UIC SPH faculty and students as a research assistant on the Chicago Health, Environmental Exposure, and Recreation Study (known as CHEERS), a study that aims to determine the health effects associated with recreational activities on Chicago’s waterways.

“My research involves the exposure studies. I am using HPLC [High Performance Liquid Chromatography] for the quantification of water ingested while doing outdoor water sports, like swimming, fishing and kayaking,” he said. “I feel like I am learning a lot at UIC SPH as a graduate student, and I look forward to another wonderful year here.”

Being able to advise fellow minority students is an important part of Gandarvaka Gary’s new role as MSAPH president.

“I’m really looking forward to serving as a Minority Academic Peer Program mentor,” she said. “Mentorship is important for everyone, but has played a particularly prominent role in the history and legacy of minorities in higher education.”

As an undergraduate, Brittney Lilly participated in various summer programs including one that exposed her to the inequalities in the U.S. health care system and led her to pursue a MPH degree at UIC. Lilly is a second-year student in the Health Policy and Administration Division and this year’s MSAPH treasurer.

“I am thrilled to have the opportunity to serve MSAPH,” she said. “I want to have an active roll in the growth and success of my minority peers.” Officers of PHSA and MSAPH act as liaisons between students and faculty and represent the needs of UIC SPH students. They help to promote career development through social events, student involvement on campus and community service.

To learn more about PHSA, MSAPH and other student organizations at UIC SPH, visit http://www.uic.edu/sph/students_gov.htm.

>> Tina Daniel