Grace Turk (she/her)

Student Research Assistant, MPH Graduate Student

5/26/2023

I like to say I’m from Cleveland-ish; I’m actually from a small town about 45 minutes northeast of Cleveland called Chardon. I started my undergraduate career with plans to go to medical school, however when the Covid pandemic hit and I started working at the Covid testing center on campus, I became passionate about public health, health disparities and taking preventative measures for disease rather than treating disease after diagnosis.

What are your goals for the future?

I plan to pursue a master’s degree in epidemiology, hopefully in Boston or New York City. I would like to continue to research health disparities and how underrepresented populations are affected by disease at higher proportions. Eventually, I plan to use this knowledge to influence policy in health care.

How do you spend your time outside of academia?

Outside of academia, I also work as a server at an Italian restaurant in Grandview Heights, Trattoria Roma, and spend majority of my free time working out or spending time with my friends. I’m very into running, but I recently started taking barre classes with my roommate which has been a fun change! I also love to read, listen to podcasts, and do puzzles.