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During my sophomore year at Ohio State, I enrolled in my first criminology class. I have always been intrigued by this field of study, but did not plan on taking any courses relating to it. However, as I am in the sociology specialization of the public health major, there are a few classes I am required to take relating to crime, stratification, and justice.

In this criminology class, we discussed the many theories of crime (which I was not aware existed) and the different subtypes and categories of crime. Although confusing and extensive, my professor did an amazing job explaining each theory in her lectures and in the practice activities we completed.

As a final project, each student had to choose a topic of interest related to crime and write a research paper synthesizing findings from academic sources. The topic I chose was prisoner reentry and the challenges ex-offenders face when integrating back into society. In my paper, I argue that the challenges in housing, employment, and family relationships faced by parolees expose the need for additional and improved reentry programs. And that, above all, it is important to prepare prisoners for re-entry by placing them into such programs prior to release, and by monitoring them throughout the reentry course.

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During my third semester at Ohio State, I took an upper-level public health course called “U.S. and International Health Care.” Before starting the semester, I was very nervous due to the fact that I had just began taking core public health courses (and that this would be my first course at the 4,000 level). Although I was challenged by the course content, timed online quizzes, and essay-filled exams, it turned out to be one of the more interesting courses I have taken since being at this university. One of the major components of this course was a group research paper accompanied by a video presentation. The research paper was a comparative one, and we were able to choose a public health topic and the countries we wanted to study. My group chose infant mortality and looked at how the United States, Afghanistan, and Norway are dealing with the issue through a comparative lens.

Of the three countries, Afghanistan has the highest infant mortality rate and Norway has the lowest. Many assume that the United States has a lower infant mortality, however, data suggests that this is not the case. Our paper explains why the United States is not at the ‘top’ and how it can decrease its infant mortality. Additionally, it describes how Norway’s healthcare system has achieved its low rate and why Afghanistan is experiencing such a high rate of infant mortality. The paper concludes with suggestions for improvement in both Afghanistan and the U.S.

Although completing this project was challenging (assigning research, paper sections, and coordinating meetings is not always easy when working with others who have completely different schedules and commitments), I breathed a sigh of relief once it was submitted and am quite happy with and proud of the final product.