Hey, y’all! My name is Rachael Brooks and I am a sophomore majoring in biology, with minors in writing and sociology, as well as distinctions in the honors college and public health. I am from Vestavia Hills here in Birmingham, Alabama, so I'ma local to this area.
After BSC, I plan on getting my Masters in public health, then attending a Ph.D. program focused on either environmental or infectious disease epidemiology. I have always been interested in public health and, in my future, I would like to work in the public health sector, either in a laboratory setting or collecting field data. My dream job would be to work for the CDC as part of their Epidemic Intelligence Service. This is a two-year fellowship that recent Ph.D. graduates in epidemiology can apply for that allows participants to travel to the frontlines of outbreaks to do research. After working for a few years in this type of career, I plan on going back to school to get a Ph.D.in Global Health, then working abroad doing public health research in developing nations.
In this class, I want to learn how ecological disruptions due to the advancement of human industry are related to outbreaks of disease. I would also like to learn about how infectious diseases can disproportionally impact lower-income communities and how these health disparities can be combated when dealing with epidemics. Further, I want to learn about the different ways that people infected with diseases are treated throughout the world and how different cultural norms can impact the care patients receive.
A fun fact about myself is that I am a competitive swimmer and compete for BSC on our swim and dive team. I have been a swimmer for over thirteen years and, in high school, I competed in both lap swims and open water swimming.
As you can see from my career goals, I really want to travel. I have actually never been outside the United States, but I feel like traveling is an important aspect of becoming a well-rounded citizen. If time and money were no object, I would travel to Antarctica. One of my bucket list items is to set foot on every continent and I feel like Antarctica will be the hardest one to check off my list. I would also love to do environmental research down there!