Please provide a brief description of your STEP Signature Project. 

For my STEP Signature Project, I interned with the Health Policy Institute of Ohio. As an intern, I researched health policy issues such as addiction, attended weekly staff meetings, and analyzed and compiled data related to health issues. I finished my internship by presenting a final project about how Ohio policymakers can encourage pregnant women with substance use disorder to seek out addiction treatment.

What about your understanding of yourself, your assumptions, or your view of the world changed/transformed while completing your STEP Signature Project? 

This internship was a wonderful experience. I loved my coworkers, the organization, and the work I did. Some things I learned about myself through this experience are that I am task-oriented, enjoy working with a small, driven team, and like researching health policy. My internship was virtual and very organized. I received tasks via email on a weekly basis. I learned through this experience that I am a very task-oriented person and prefer working on a task basis versus a set number of hours per day. Health Policy Institute of Ohio (HPIO) is a small, nonprofit with just over ten full-time employees. I liked working on a small team since I was able to get to know all of my coworkers personally. I also enjoyed completing research on health policy issues. Ohio has one of the worst health outcomes in America so it was very interesting to learn how other states effectively tackle health problems.

My perspective about public health widened because of this internship. I strongly believe in the importance of legislation to improve health issues. Policy is a long-lasting, sustainable way to create a positive impact. From this experience, I became better at asking questions. There is always more depth to a story or situation than appears. It is important to ask questions to truly understand a problem so that an effective solution can be found.

What events, interactions, relationships, or activities during your STEP Signature Project led to the change/transformation that you discussed in #2, and how did those affect you? 

The key aspect of this internship that taught me that I am task-oriented was the virtual format. I worked from home for this internship and never went into the office. Instead of working an hourly schedule, I was given tasks to complete. I ended up working about 15 hours per week but I liked the format of receiving a task, completing it, and then getting a new one. For my internship, I met with every staff member one-on-one via zoom. I was able to learn about their position, their journey to HPIO, and ask questions. I really felt like part of the team since I developed a relationship with everyone. Every staff member at HPIO was exceptionally driven which helped to elevate my work ethic. From these one-on-one meetings and our weekly staff meetings, I learned that I like working in a smaller work atmosphere which will be very helpful in my future job search.

As an intern, I was asked to research many health policy areas that HPIO was considering delving into. One of my favorite research tasks was about medical respite homes since one just opened in Columbus. Medical respite homes are for homeless individuals to live and recover once they are discharged from the hospital. I researched metrics of success for the new medical respite home in Columbus. I really enjoyed this research task because I was not familiar with medical respite homes and the importance of them. I like learning about new things so I appreciate the opportunity HPIO gave to me to research new, exciting public health initiatives.

Before this internship, I was not sure if I would enjoy working with policy. I typically prefer face-to-face interactions with community members who need assistance as opposed to policy that is more removed from community interactions. By researching policies that have had a positive impact on health outcomes, I began to realize the long-lasting impact of policy. For example, my final presentation focused on pregnant women with substance use disorder and how policymakers can encourage them to seek treatment. While researching what policy other states have, I learned about the effectiveness of family treatment facilities. Women are less likely to seek addiction treatment as compared to men because of their obligations such as children. Family-centered treatment facilities increase the likelihood that women will seek out treatment since their children can stay with them. Ohio can use policy to prioritize family treatment facilities to help address pregnant women using drugs. Through my final project, I was able to learn about how policy can help alleviate public health issues.

Why is this change/transformation significant or valuable for your life? 

This transformation is very valuable to me because I am about to graduate and join the job force. Any experience that allows me to learn more about myself and my interests helps me to find my “dream job”. I am so glad that I learned that I enjoy working with smaller teams because now I know to focus on applying to jobs at smaller, start-up organizations. This change is also significant because it helped me to solidify my specialty for my graduate program. I was choosing between two specialty tracks that I am passionate about. After this internship and my transformation, I know that the policy track is right for me. By growing and evolving, I learn more about myself, my interests, and my goals. I am excited to see where these changes take me. I am so grateful for this internship because I really learned a lot about myself. 

I met with my team once in person for a socially distanced lunch at a local park. We took this photo and only realized after that we look a little intimidating 🙂