Reflecting on my academic journey, I would say I am very proud of myself because I achieved a milestone, studying Public Health in Abia State University despite a lot of obstacles and challenges. These field of study has contributed positively in my life as it broadened my knowledge not only in factors that influence health but it also equipped me with skills necessary to make positive impact In my community.
Throughout my academic journey, I have faced numerous challenges, including rigorous coursework, demanding projects, and balancing academic responsibilities with other aspects of my life. However, I have also experienced many triumphs, such as successfully completing challenging assignments, participating in meaningful research projects, and connecting with like-minded individuals who share my passion for public health.
During my first year in school, it felt like I already know everything I was being taught because they were just the basic things we did in secondary school but it dawned on me in my second year that this is not business as usual.
It all started with doing seminar reports with zero not more than 5% plagiarism. My department was very strict that each work undergoes serirs of plagiarism check including Turnitin before your work would be approved for you to even defend. That was when I realized my potentials in writing academic work and not just story writing. My first seminar plagiarism result was 2% and I was very proud of myself. I defended my seminar and I Was an A.
Then in three hundred level, the worst of it all happened. I lost three persons from my family in the space of three months. My mental health was at stake coupled with the fact that things became very difficult at home that I and my kid sis who was in two hundred level at the time had to go back to school empty handed. No Uncles and aunties to call for help but God came through for us. With all these happening, I kept telling myself that I don’t need to allow these things to affect my results. At the end of that session, I am glad to tell you that the least grade I had was a C.
As I proceeded to my final year, I thought that would be my best year in school, but the reverse was the case. For you to choose a project topic, the topic have to go through the department for plagiarism check, if someone has worked on the topics before, none of the three topics you submitted would be approved for you. I was so scared because a lot of people were being sent back to look for topics again, but as God may have it, I submitted and mine was approved immediately.
Having your topic approved does not mean you have arrived, you still have to do your proposal, defend the proposal, go for your field work, defend your field work and if you are cleared, you can now proceed to defend and yet a lot of us were asked to redo our projects from beginning after going through all these processes.
Studying public health has taught me many valuable lessons, including the importance of:
Interdisciplinary approaches: Public health draws on knowledge from a range of disciplines, including medicine, social sciences, and policy. This interdisciplinary approach has broadened my understanding of the complex factors that influence health outcomes.
Community engagement: Public health emphasizes the importance of working with communities to identify and address health needs. This has taught me the value of building partnerships and collaborating with others to achieve common goals.
Evidence-based practice: Public health relies on evidence-based research and data analysis to inform policy and practice. This has taught me the importance of critically evaluating information and using data to drive decision-making.
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