BYU Dept. of Life Sciences

Hey guys, thought you might like to know that our BYU Department of Life Sciences is making an impact on the national public health stage... well, kinda... I have been working on putting together a comment from Hopkins on the new FDA cigarette pack warnings proposed by the FDA, and in doing some background research came across and used the following paper published by Dr. Merrill and Dr. Lindsay: Cigarette pack warning labels in Russia: how graphic should they be? I had no idea that they were working on this - it's pretty current (July, 2010). I actually had no idea that they were even the authors until I wrote up the citation! Yay BYU public health!

Mark

P.S. Hope you all had a relaxing break.

Check this out!

Looks like we are not the only ones blogging about public health:

The Pump Handle

- Judy

Fact: Chlamydia is NOT a flower

Check out this newly released article...just reminding me of the good ol' days...

http://www.webmd.com/sexual-conditions/news/20101122/us-gonorrhea-rate-drops-but-chlamydia-syphilis-up

(just needed something to post to try to keep this blog alive...and i'm really bored at work, it's my last day at AED).

From the Beehive State

So I have been more than remiss in my writing on the blog, so I'm breaking my non-writing cycle and busting out a post. This post is in honor of the upcoming GIS Day (this Wednesday, November 17th!). The last few weeks at work I have been pretty much immersed in GIS. ESRI, the company that produces the ArcGIS software, just released a new version of ArcGIS - version 10. It has a lot of new features so ESRI is traveling around the country giving free seminars on it so a few of us from work jumped on the opportunity to go. One aspect of the new ArcGIS is the web capabilities. I tried to make a dynamic cohort map, but the type of layers you can add is limited right now so I created this static map. It looked a lot clearer before I imported it into Blogger so hopefully you can see everyone's name in their respective cities (if it doesn't post well I'll try to re-post it). I miss you all and wish we were all closer, but we are seriously spread out from coast to coast.

As for a personal update, Aaron and I are still living it up in his parents' basement. We can't believe we've almost been married a year, but it has been a great one! Aaron is working at his dad's office and is enjoying being a dentist. I took over John's job in the Environmental Epidemiology Program at UDOH. I really enjoy my job and the people I work with. I don't love that I sit in a cube all day, but I do have a window and one of the bigger cubes so that's nice. :) One of the fun things is that we have a national tracking conference every 6 months or so and the next one is in New York City at the end of April, so I think everyone who can should start planning a trip to the Big Apple from the 25-28 of April!!

Congrats to everyone on all of the exciting baby news! I hope that there can be some second generation cohort marriages in the future. :)

I miss you all!

Cancer Awareness Months

So we all know that October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. If you are a literate American who reads anything, you know what all the pink is about this month. Now breast cancer is important and is a prevalent cancer among women. But, I feel like it gets more media attention than any other cancer. Who in America is not aware of breast cancer? I think the pink ribbons should continue and we as public health professionals should continue to spread awareness. However, what about the other cancers? There are many many prevalent and deadly cancers which could be curbed with awareness of screening techniques.

I propose today that we promote proper screening to prevent another cancer--colorectal cancer. Hmm, not everyone's favorite cancer to talk about? Well, it is the third most common cause of cancer (excluding skin cancers) in the US, taking third behind bladder and breast cancer. It may not be as emotional as breast cancer, but still one that can be prevented with proper screening. So, no need to worry, I have it all figured out. I'm thinking as this is a less than exciting cancer, we'll pick the shortest month--February as Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month. And, as for a color for all the promotion ribbons, well you guessed it--Brown.

Look for your favorite brown ribbons debuting February 2011.

Matches Made in Heaven

In case you didn't see my email or my personal blog, we had our ultrasound today and it's a BOY! We are SO SO happy about it! Baby James is healthy and a little mover! Ashley told me that she knew we'd have a boy because we're destined to have the opposite gender from the rest of the cohort. I told her I'm totally okay with that because it just means more potential in-laws for my kids that I already know and love . . . :) I'd be perfectly happy for Annie or James to end up with any one of your kids!

Ultrasound News!!!

So, I've got news... ;)

We had our ultrasound today for Baby 2. ...And...

IT'S A GIRL!!!!!

Everything looks great. We've posted some pictures on our personal blog, including some 3-D shots of baby's face. Due date is still looking like February 28th. We're totally shocked, extremely excited, a little bit terrified, and we have NO idea what we're gonna name her! From talking to family, it's clear we're about to be inundated with dresses, frills, and lots of pink. Hmmm...

School is picking up. The first couple of weeks I was starting to wonder what I got myself into being 2,200 miles from my family, but we're really liking it here. The ward's great (Dr Cole's wife is in the ward, so I saw him at Church a week ago). I volunteer at NIEHS 10 hours a week with my mentor from a year ago and I've started a new project on occupational lead exposure and Parkinson's disease that might lead to a dissertation. It's great because it's both environmental and neuro, which is what I was hoping for. I've also met some LDS epidemiologists in the program (I think there's 6 or 7 of us) and Annah Layman (for those of you who knew her) is one of the TAs for one of my classes.

Probably the most surprising thing so far is that I'm in a reproductive, perinatal, and pediatric epidemiology class. At the beginning of the semester I had to laugh because the teacher held up another reproductive epidemiology book that we weren't going to be using for our class but that could act as another reference. The funny part was it was Dr Merrill's book that we all had to write those reports for when we took epidemiology 2 years ago. The class is awkward though because there are 29 girls and me...One of the girls might have checked my ring finger the other day...yeah...weird... But it's not really that bad because we're focusing on how to measure things as opposed to promoting, say, birth control methods. Numbers I can do.

Well that's about it for now. I'm excited to hear what Eli and MaryAnne are going to have, and to hear how everyone else is doing.

Worse than Tuskegee . . .

I can't believe this happened! I know we all got frustrated with the IRB, but thank goodness there is something in place now to prevent things like this from happening.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/02/health/research/02infect.html?_r=1&ref=us

Greetings from Boston

Here's my overdue update!

I moved to Boston about a month ago. This is probably the best decision I've made in a long time. I really like the city, the Institute and the YSA ward out here are great, and there are about a million choices for food (except there isn't any good Mexican out here... but that's a story for another day). The only downside is a slight mouse problem in my apartment. I'm pretty sure whoever lived in this place never cleaned while they lived here. It was disgusting. I also put out mousetraps and have successfully caught one of those little critters. I'm hoping its death sent its other mouse friends a clear warning to stay away. Far, far away.

My program is going well. The workload isn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. I decided that I'm just not going to do homework after 8 pm. I haven't had a problem getting everything done so far, but I have a feeling my life is going to get busy soon.

My favorite class right now is an emerging infectious disease class, specifically because we have guest speakers from CDC that video conference with the class. It's really interesting to hear what these people do on a day to day basis and the challenges that they are very aware of. In contrast to the bureaucracy and inactivity of another organization that I worked in (think fieldwork), I think CDC actually does things. And by does things, I mean they actually are good at getting things done.

Above all, I think I'm just accepting the fact that I am a total nerd that's been keeping it at bay. As much as I try to integrate myself into normal social situations, I can't hide it. Someone joked about a professor being able to publish without reporting p values. Sad thing is, I understood the joke and may have laughed a little. But just a little.

Hope everyone is doing well.

Way to go Utah!

Just a little article that I thought might make you all proud of Utah. And, yes, I am still looking into becoming a CLC or even an IBCLC???

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/home/50274276-76/cdc-breast-feeding-utah.html.csp

Guess who is employed....

I am!! (all pending if I pass my drug test:)

I am so thrilled-

A) I got a job

B) Im done with the filling out endless job applications and awkward interviews

C) I got a job in PH that I couldn't be more excited about

Ill be working with the Vista Community Clinics as a Project Coordinator working on health promotion and education, particularly with under-served and Latino populations. I am so grateful that it all worked out, and realize the Lord has a much better and bigger plan. There were a few times I was about to settle for some jobs I really wouldn't have been happy doing and for some reason or another they just didn't work out- now I know why. Well just thought you are some of the few people that would appreciate my PH job. Also, if there are any of you looking for a job out there (ehh hem- Brea you can still change to a CA license and I would LOVE to have you down here) and want to move to SD, let me know because I think they are looking to fill a few more positions.

Glad the blog is alive again- great to read the updates. Miss you all!

Fort Ethan Allen

Hey folks!

Heres a couple photos (you know I have to include photos with every blog post!) I took this week in our new area. We're loving it! I passed my first course (Yeah biostats and epi, with genetics and ethics), and one week into my second. The hard stuff starts in 3 weeks so for now we're mostly reviewing and its pretty chill. Meanwhile, we've been able to go camping and see covered bridges, go to Montreal, and the beach (don't get too excited its just a lake beach, no waves but nice and warm water!)

Still unpacking but thats a long process. Things are going well. There's one other lds family (he has 2 kids) in my year and we have gotten pretty close in the few weeks we've lived next door to them. Their house is the closest one on the right, we live on the top floor of the white one. Sara and Tanner and doing great. They hang out with the neighbors a lot, well pretty much every day. Right now we've got some wicked black Earlish clouds outside, the beginnings of which you can see from the photos, but I bet its nothing compared to what Judy experienced in Boston.

Oh, the neighborhood is called Fort Ethan Allen. Until 1960 it was an actual military base (our street was for non-commissioned officers and that abandoned church was actually used for church at one time). Its pretty and quiet and we have a community garden and a ton of open space and playgrounds. And the bus stop in front of our house takes us right to the med school!

I'll write more later but its good to hear from everyone!!

The End of Summer

As Ashley put my name in the email, I should also contribute to the blog. I have about 5 posts in que, but haven't finished one yet. This summer has been crazy. I am officially a Virginian--drivers license, license plates, voter registration--the whole shebang! I'm not sure how I feel about it. Even after living in Utah for 9 years, I never changed my Washington status, so this is all new to me.

Work has been going well. I am definitely doing public health, but on the domestic side. My internship ends September 30, so I'm feeling quite anxious and antsy about finding a job. I've applied a couple of places, but haven't had a single interview. I might be be able to stay on at AED, but that is not definite yet. Any leads or contacts in the DC area?

So this summer, I've had some fun adventures, and as they will all be explained with pics in my personal blog, I'll just give the run down here.

Summer in DC:

• Sailing for my first time in Maryland
• 4th of July in the Capitol with fireworks, Jefferson Monument, and the Potomac for a view
• Hiking and camping in the Shenandoah National Forest, with an awesome natural waterslide
• Weekend trip to Smith Family Lake, where "What About Bob" was filmed. Yup, we even went to the house and stopped by Gutman's Cafe. We rented boats and I was able to wakeboard and even teach a few others the joys of wakeboarding.
• Roadtrip from Utah to DC
• UKRAINE! Yes, it was a very impromptu trip to Ukraine for the Temple Dedication. I stayed about 9 days and it was incredible!!!!
• Marathon Training--I run the Richmond Marathon on Nov 13. Lauren, any tips???

I think that sums up the highlights. I am enjoying DC, but definitely miss Provo and all of you. If you are in the area, give me a call. I plan on purchasing an air mattress very soon, so now you have a place to sleep when you visit.

Most of us have personal blogs, but I think it's fun to contribute to the cohort blog once in awhile, especially if it has to do with job/MPH/school related things.

Miss you all!!!!

I'm Alive Too

Hi cohort,

I'm alive, but you probably knew that based on the fact that i sent out an email. Things are okay in texas, but i have to echo maryanne and lauren, even after 9 months here I am still working on adjusting life away from Utah. We are headed to utah tomorrow, and I am so excited- Pete and Alina I am stoked (yes stoked to see you!), camille I will miss you tons and tons. The most exciting thing happening for us is that we got a cat... three months ago- she is still awesome. Nothing much to report, I have a job but well... nevermind I will keep my comments to myself on that. I miss working in public health every day so if you hear of anything.... Hm... what else can i tell you about... oh yeah a couple weeks ago I had strep and mono- yes you read that correctly, eli would have kicked me out of the lab in about 2 minutes, but I went to work instead- that's right, I have limited sick and vacation days and had to go in so that wasnt public health. I am happy to report that i consistently educate my coworkers on public health issues, force them to use sanitzer and pass out "this is public health" stickers- i also sign my emails ph (public health)- strange yes. I think I have finally decided on my next step- I am going to apply to nursing school next fall, I start the prereqs next week. Other than that I hope all is well with everyone, and if you ever want to come to dallas you are welcome any time- I would say I would show you around, but let's face it, this is dallas not much to see.

have a wonderful labor day weekend!

Im Alive

You are right... it is about high time I post. I have been a MPH blog slacker.

First off, congrats to all the upcoming babies out there!! That really is exciting. Also, I can't believe how spread out we all when just a few months ago we were in the lab. We need to plan some cohort field trips across the USA.

Well here is my update. We made it Cali and are loving the weather and activities. Mike is LOVING school (he was on "suicide watch" at his last job and was SO ready for something new) so I couldn't be happier for him. I am really loving it here, but I am still in the awkward stage of trying to adjust to a new life, a new city, a new group of friends (that don't exist yet- Im hoping they come soon), etc, etc. There is no place like home, but San Diego is a close second.

I am still in not-so-fun process of a job search in this awesome economy. We have only been here 2 weeks, but I feel like I have been unemployed forever and am a complete waste of space. I have interviewed with some great organizations, so I am hoping something works out. Ill keep you posted. Until then if anyone want to come to San Diego- I am free and available to take you around:)

Well I miss you all. Good luck with jobs, school, babies, etc. And seriously, come to Cali to visit!!

Babies . . . and other tidbits (but not many)

Okay Ash, here's for a post for you and Brea.

I'm super excited about all the cohort babies coming up! I hope we all live by each other at some point so that they can play together. I also really hope that these pregnancies go smoothly! Keep your fingers crossed for us.

As far as other news, Brad is liking med school so far. However, that should have been predictable because the first class is a combo of epi and biostats, and who wouldn't love that? He starts anatomy, physiology, and histology in about a week. That's supposed to be the hardest class of these two years.

I'm still adjusting to the move. I like it, but I'm feeling like I really need some friends in my life that know me and love me even when I squeak about feeling anxious and antsy. No one's penetrated that deep yet. :)

For any of you who are still in Utah, I'll be there for my sister's wedding in a week. I'd love to see any and all of you who are available.

Officially a Longhorn...

Well, I do have to say that if I had to choose a cool mascot the University of Texas Longhorns would have to be on my list... it's just so different than any other school! And now I'm justified in going out and buying Longhorn paraphernalia- I actually almost bought some pajama pants as I was wandering through WalMart the other day. So, the REASON I had to go to WalMart was actually that the ward relief society president who had told the bishop she would find me a couch to sleep on didn't actually ask anyone so I got down here at 3 am this Wed morning after a long and somewhat frustrating drive which included my motorcycle trailer detaching itself from the tongue that hooks it to the hitch on my car. Luckily I noticed before it came off and destroyed my mostly new bike. I had to find a welder willing to come fix the trailer though it was after 5 pm... after getting it towed back north to a town of 800 inhabitants. What a fun night.

Anyway, I get to a friend's house who lives over an hour from El Paso, sleep on her couch for 2 hours or so, then get up and leave on my motorcycle for orientation that starts at 7:30 am (Wed). I didn't want to take my car and leave all of my stuff in it all day in the middle of El Paso. I thought I'd have time to go back and get my car that afternoon, which turned out being wrong. The RS pres finally answered her phone Wed afternoon (i've been calling for weeks now) but said she had nothing, but the institute director overheard all this and in the middle of me asking if he knew any old ladies in his ward who wouldn't mind me staying for a few days he called his wife and asked if I could stay with them. So, I found a place to stay after a lot of stress and not much help from my ward, but there wasn't time to get all my things that night and I had meetings again the next morning. Thus, the trip to WalMart to buy more clothes.

It looks like my cohort is big- about 60 of us scattered through the 6 UT campuses that offer the DrPH in Health Promotion. Four of us are here in El Paso but two are still finishing pre-req's and I'm the only full-time student so I'll be on my own most of the time. I'm jumping in with program evaluation and am hoping that I learned enough to know what they're talking about...I get the idea behind it but just don't know all the different ways to do it. I've heard it's a bear.

And I did a triathlon last weekend in Idaho then moved the next day. I don't recommend that since it doesn't really let you spend any time stretching or jogging out the soreness. It was fun though, and I ran it with a friend, which made it infinitely better. I hate running, so even though I'm faster than her and I had to grab her hand and drag her along several times, just running WITH someone alongside me makes it so much easier somehow. Not to get too sentimental or anything ;-) but I started thinking about that on my long drive to Texas and was thinking about the idea of a cohort. Thanks again to all of you for making the journey through the MPH so much enjoyable for me, even though it was still hard!

Thought you guys might appreciate this one...

Sorry it's so huge.

FIRE FIRE FIRE

We had a fire at AED last Thursday! The day started off with crazy thunderstorms and then around 1pm, while I was happily plunking away at SPSS, my supervisor told me to grab my wallet, phone, and keys and evacuate immediately. There was a fire at our building, but for some reason the fire alarms on our floor does not work. That should be checked into. Anyway, I headed down 11 flights of stairs and as I walked out of the building I saw this....

It ended up being an electrical fire and you could smell it as you got closer to the first floor. We hung out for about an hour, then our department director sent us home as we would not be able to get back into the building. I happily hopped onto the metro at 2:00 and spent my afternoon chillin'. What an exciting day!

*The building was open for regular hours on Friday. Dang, I thought I would have gotten an extra long weekend.

Thanks Alisha!

Thanks for posting Alisha... I am expecting 10 more posts in the near future (Brad and MaryAnne you can post together)

Glacier...

Just for Ashley's sake, I'll post some pics of one of my latest adventures. MaryAnne and Brea already commented on them on Facebook, but for the rest of you this may be new. I went to Montana with my roommate, Natalie, two weeks ago. Yes, she's the one that was supposed to be my roommate all last year but the manager put me in the wrong apartment...some of you may have heard that story. Anyway, she's from Kalispell right up by the border with Canada so we spent some time in Glacier National Park. We even went boating one morning and, yes, glacial lakes really ARE freezing. I didn't have blood in my toes for quite some time after getting out. I also picked up a motorcycle that I'm taking with me to Texas, so I'll throw that one in there along with some scenic shots from the trip.

I'll be around until the end of August. We have mandatory orientation on the 25th, but I can't move in until the 1st of Sept so I'll be car camping and/or asking the Institute director if I can throw out a sleeping bag for a few nights. The joys of moving on a tight budget :-)

Hope everyone's doing well! For those in Utah...we should get together before everyone splits in August!

Cohort Where Are You?

Dear Cohort 7,

Where did everyone go? What happened to the updates? Where is everyone... I am getting lonely out here in cyberspace.

Quick update from the Prairie

What is happening in dallas? Hm... not much. It is SO hot here, and it has been raining for about a week straight (by rain i mean torrential downpour) but today we had sun!!!!!!! I am still working at my lovely advertising job. I miss saving the world (really I miss it every day) but I am spreading public health information one coworker at a time. So far we have covered women's health (everything from birth control to menopause) and hand washing. By the time I leave this job I think people will be a little better informed. Other than that nothing too exciting... our kitten is still cute, she sleeps in the sink which is strange but a little bit endearing, and she likes to take showers (I know I got a defective one).

Other than those two exciting things I miss you guys, how is life? How was the move camille, brea, and mark? getting ready to move hunters, eli, alisha, john, and lauren? what is this about grad school liz? how is married life alina? where are you headed pete? did I miss anyone? How is life cohort 7, is there still life out there?

I think it's someone's birthday....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CAMILLE!!! Wow, a whopping 25! Here's a little tribute to our very own Camille Madsen Roundy

Welcome to the mid 20's! Happy 25th!

Anyone else enjoying the lack of classes and papers?

I really have no excuse for not having added to the blog lately...except that I'm still recovering from the last semester and have managed to avoid doing just about everything that I have on my To Do list. I got an email from Josh yesterday that says "So it's my job to continue to pressure you to submit your paper. In a very nice way of course :) What can I help with?" I had to laugh and admit to myself that teaching two sections of Intro to Biology in summer school at SLCC isn't enough for me to claim that I'm too busy to work on it anymore... it's just my lack of desire to do anything serious that is holding me back ;)

I have been taking time to live a little more lately, like a trip to Manti last weekend, a couple of family reunions coming up, a trip to Montana next weekend, and training for a triathlon in August. I even tried to go on a ride with Lauren up Immigration Canyon a couple of weeks ago but we got about 20 minutes into the trip and the crank of my bike (the arm that the pedal hooks to) fell off, so I had to ride back down with one leg. I wish we'd had a camera!!! It's been really nice to have time to read or do something I want to do instead of being in the lab 24-7 (though I did have some great times and great conversations there, too). I'm starting to worry that I'll have enjoyed my freedom so much that I won't be able to get back into the studying groove come September.

Yes, that means that I am planning on going back for more... and Ashley will be excited that the position I accepted is in Texas. Of course it's still hours and hours away from her and Brian, but it's in Texas. I'll be headed to El Paso (unless something else changes in the next two months and I change my mind)- it's basically like living in Mexico since the city is 80% hispanic, it's just more expensive since we're still in the US. The good thing is that since it's good weather all year long I can ride my bike or motorcycle every day and save a ton of money on gas. The city apparently hasn't had any public health advise on road construction to increase bicycle usage, though, so I'll have to look for a path through residential streets to get to campus every day.

And lastly, for those of you who worked on the LEP project in Mike's class, our poster was accepted for APHA so we're going to start getting things together for it in the next few weeks. Maybe do a googledoc for old times sake? All of your names are listed with APHA as authors, so you can add that one to your resumes. I think we're in a Sunday afternoon session...

Hope you are all having a wonderful summer!

Good Morning Baltimore

Welcome to Baltimore! The Roundy's were kind enough to let me crash their apartment for a few nights. Camille and I stayed up way too late Thursday night after some airline delays, so while Aaron and I were fine, Camille had to get up early and go to work the next day. Fortunately, Camille's boss is in Georgia (the country--global tobacco control, you know) and so she was able to take Friday afternoon off and we ventured out to see the Harbor and other Baltimore sights. Camille and Aaron basically live downtown Baltimore so were a hop, skip, and jump away from the Harbor.

After walking around and thoroughly enjoying the humidity, we headed back to the apartment to regroup. With some water and an episode of Man v. Food, we were ready to venture out again on the town--this time to Pulaski Park for the Polish Festival! The Festival was full of polka, perogies, other polish food, and of course Poles. We had some Polish kabasa and potato pancakes (by the way, Polish food is strikingly similar to Ukrainian food, so I felt right at home) and spent our token time in the Polish Heritage tent to remember our Polish roots (which we don't have). Did you know that Marie Curry was a Pole and Joseph Conrad? Yup, they were. The things you learn at a Polish festival.

Go Polska!!

Thanks Camille and Aaron for being such great hosts and for a fun filled weekend! Have a blast in Jamaica!

:)

I got to see Brea at church yesterday! I'm so excited to hear that so many people are headed east. Reunion on the east coast anyone?

CJ

On saturday we broke down and finally got a pet. We were advised not to get one- people said the resale value of our home would plummet, that our lives would be ruined, and that generally pets are unpleasant. We listening for a few months, but finally decided enough is enough and got a cat. Her name is CJ (after the west wing press secretary), she is 5 months old, and we chose her because the people at the animal shelter said black cats get adopted last, and she is ADORABLE- yes this really is the most exciting thing going on in my life at the moment.

Moving cross country

I made it. Yesterday I loaded up 2 50 lb suitcases and as many bags Southwest would let me carry on. After 6 hours on the airplane, an emergency landing in Omaha, Nebraska, and 20 minutes waiting on the tarmac to pull up to the gate, I made it into Baltimore and Camille was there ready to greet me! I made the move! Not totally sure what the next few weeks hold, but for now I'm chillin' in Baltimore with Camille and Aaron and waiting  The job is on hold for the moment, but I'll keep you posted! Welcome to the east coast.

DC: Ready or not, here I come!!!

I accepted an internship position to work at AED Center for Health Communication in Washington, D.C. You all know the organization...those cute blue bags that Lauren and I have are from AED as well as the crazy social change poster in the 2nd year lab. They were at APHA and I'm sure we all visited their booth. The details are still a little fuzzy and I'm not totally sure if it's official, but as of now I am moving to Arlington, VA on June 3 and starting work Monday, June 7. I will be an intern in the research and evaluation office working on survey research (data analysis, data cleaning, report generating, lit review, etc) for a poverty reduction project. It's not exactly MPH stuff, but the organization does a ton of public health initiatives and other departments do consulting for CDC, USAID, NCI, NIH, etc. The internship is June-September and I hope to land a full time salary position in the meantime. Everything happened so quick and my head is still spinning, but I'm excited to go!

More details to come...

p.s. I'm trying to sell my contract starting June 1, so if you know of any single girls looking for a great place to live, send them my way. Rent is $250/mo private room, shared bath, furnished house, backyard, older BYU singles ward.

Diploma coming

Did anyone get an email with a picture of your diploma this afternoon? It's official, we are master wizards!

PS how is everyone... things have been awfully quiet lately...

Memorial Day Weekend + Super Nice Father-in-Law = Going home for the weekend!

Hey cohort 7,

I am coming to Utah for memorial day weekend. If anyone is around that weekend it might be fun to see you guys...

Ash

Grad Pics

This is for you Brea... Here is what I have from graduation. My personal favorite is Wizard Pete and mahk's wonkie eye.

Thanks for all the good times guys. I second everyone's comments and thoughts on how much I have enjoyed everyones friendship and going through the program together. I feel like I have made 12 life-long friends. I have learned so much from each of you. Can't wait to hear what everyone is up to throughout the years. Gracias!!

Calling ALL pictures

Does anyone have some graduation pics of the cohort to post? I didn't take any group shots and am feeling sad about it. Also, please please please upload pics onto the web album. I don't want to leave Utah without them.

Guys, I just wanted to say THANK YOU for everything. I know we've all expressed our sentiments, but I don't think I've ever put it down in writing. As I'm still hanging out in 126 RB (finishing up a research project with Dr. L) I have loads of time to remember and reflect on the MPH. I can't believe we are done and this phase is over. You guys have been awesome and some of my best friends for the past two years. Thank you. There's no way I could have survived some of our classes or my billions of proposals without your support. You are all incredible! Good luck in Cali, Vermont, NY, Boston, NC, Centerville, SLC, Dallas, Sacramento, DC, Texas?, Wisconsin?, and anywhere else you might be. Please stay in touch and keep this blog alive!

The Burning Mustache

Today I went on a campus tour with my family (my sister is a prospective student) and this is what we found... a burning mustache... apparently this is awesome art. Not sure what it says about the sad state of art but still I thought it needed to be shared.

proof this was actually on byu campus, see the y

PS I am so excited to see the graduation pictures everyone took... hint hint...

Help Wanted

Dear Cohort,

First off, I am stoked to see you guys in a week (yes stoked). I hope the rest of you are just as excited as I am.

Second, I help with 2 things

1. I need some songs that "personify" our cohort, you know something cheesy that doesnt make you want to vomit (so no Taylor Swift)

2. I need some cohort "quotes", you know funny things people have said that are worth remembering.

THanks for you help, more inform on the graduation events to come, i think we are pretty much squared away on that.

I am so excited to see you guys!!!

Ash

PPACA

Yeah it's me again. Just thinking about you guys. Our supervisor just sent us this link to a list of all the things Obamacare does, including an array of the new public health measures to be implemented. If you haven't yet, take a look at this summary. It definitely helped me carry on a semi-intelligent conversation about the new health care plan.

I just wanted to direct your attention to the one that is supposed to happen in 2014 - no deductible for preventive services marked A or B grade by the USPSTF or in HRSA guidelines OR any immunizations or preventive care for children and women. I don't know about you, but this is one part of free health care that I am all in favor of. Lots of us have mixed feelings about whether general health care should be a right, but what do you think -- is preventive health care a right?

Speaking of free stuff, go to this website and just put in your address. Voila! You will receive a hard copy of all the recommended Clinical Preventive Services for 2009. It's great to see all this stuff we've learned about in print!

Cambodia and Law School

I thought I would follow suit a little and just let everyone in on a few updates in my life...I made it back from Cambodia and had a great time and it looks like I am going to be an attorney after all??? Crazy huh?

Cambodia was way fun and it looks like everything is going to work out as planned with my project. I did a photovoice survey among elementary students about hygiene and sanitation for the Jolie-Pitt Foundation. The kids took awesome pictures and it definitely shows that they feel there are problems to be solved in their communities regarding the topic. The area I was in was pretty cool too...it certainly has quite the background. The fighting from their 30 year civil war ended in this area just over 10 years ago in 1998. While I was there, there were a few little brush fires going on in the hills and at night you could hear ammunition and occasionally a land mine going off due to the heat of the fires. I had to be semi-careful too where I chose to wonder around as the area is not yet completely "de-mined." Everywhere that hasn't been de-mined is marked by fairly large, sometimes visible, red warning signs. All in all though, I learned a ton from the Jolie-Pitt people and they are doing an incredible job in their area.

As for law school...I put myself in a pretty difficult situation by applying so late in the game. I have been quite worried as a lot of schools have warned me that their acceptance lists are pretty much filled by this time, but things have turned out okay. I applied to 24 schools to increase my chances as much as I could, and I am still waiting with my fingers crossed to hear from 12 more. So far, I am in at Creighton, Texas Tech, and University of the Pacific in Sacramento...none of these are my top choices, but at least I am in somewhere as of now. A handful of the rest of the schools, including BYU, put me on their waitlist and will offer a spot if some open up as time goes on. It might be a long spring/summer waiting on all of these waitlists, but at least I know that I have somewhere to go currently if nothing else pans out. It's still a little new to me, thinking that I am actually going to be a lawyer, but I think I'll get used to it soon.

I can't wait to see everyone next week.

A Few Deep Fried Cockroaches for Dinner!

Some of the kids writing their responses to their pictures.

A "Beware of Land Mines" sign posted about 10 feet outside my bedroom window. Sleep walking could get dangerous here.

Graduation

Dear Cohort,

It is finally time for graduation- can you even believe it, I cant, and what does that mean? It means that it is finally time to discuss the party plans for next week.

We understand that these dates and times dont work for everyone but they work for the largest number of people so this is what we are going to work with.

Party #1

April, 22, 2010- 12-2pm

BBQ at Pete's parent's house with professors

families are invited so bring whoever is around

Party #2

April 22, 2010 dinner-whenever we decide we have had enough

this is the final "cohort bonding" activity. we are going to limit this to cohort members, their spouses, and "significant others", and children. our plan is to have some dinner (pizza), play pandemic, hang out, and "break up the fellowship"

Because food will be involved in each of these events we need to get an accurate head count as soon as possible. Email Ashley at ashleyadawisuker@gmail.com with the number of people you have attending each event. we have decided to split the cost of the food for each thing as well as soon as I get a head count we will get that figure out to you.

Have a wonderful evening and I am so excited to see everyone!

Ash

PS I got a job, yes a real paying job, more details to come.

Modern Revelation and Public Health

I especially enjoyed hearing some public health plugs within the messages from our church leaders last weekend. Here are two of my favorite quotes, both in very clear support of disease prevention and public health science! WOOOHOOOOOOO!

"I ask a question to you mothers: “Would you ever do something that would cause pain and bring tears to your children when they have done nothing wrong?” Of course you would! When mothers take young children to the doctor to receive immunizations, almost every child leaves the doctor’s office in tears. Why do you do that? Because you know that a small amount of pain now will protect them from possible pain and suffering in the future. Our Father in Heaven knows the end from the beginning. We need to follow the example of the Savior and trust in Him." - J. B. Martino

"Latter-day Saints believe in applying the best available scientific knowledge and techniques. We use nutrition, exercise, and other practices to preserve health, and we enlist the help of healing practitioners, such as physicians and surgeons, to restore health." - D. H. Oaks

Update

I have good news!

First, I scheduled my defense for the 19th of April.

Second, I was awarded a fellowship through the Cancer Research Center to do research over the summer. This means that I will be employed and can pay for food through the summer! Hooray!

Third, I decided on Boston University! I will move out to the Bean Town in August, after my fellowship is completed. I am really excited, and also very at peace with this decision. It feels right, and I am ready for a change. I really like the faculty there, I like the projects they are working on, and I also liked the city itself. The offer is also very generous - they committed to full tuition, health insurance, and a stipend for the entire duration of the program. And the stipend doesn't come with work hours attached, so I am getting paid to study. Weird! I have been working and going to school simultaneously for the past 5 years - I can't remember what life is like without having a job!

I hope things are going well for everyone. I am excited to see everyone at graduation!

Promised Pictures

The long awaited DC picture post! Some of you may have forgotten, but everyone likes to check out the cohort blog and always hopes there is something new. As I have fallen behind on my promised post of the graduation awards, I hope this post will hold me over and gain me some more time and forgiveness for not getting the other one up.  Here are some pictures in no particular order

 

Ahh, the Beautiful Capitol Building. The main reason for the trip out to our Nation's Capitol. We saw beautiful sights like this.

And did awesome things like this. Yes, Alisha and I are experts in advocacy and we rocked this visit!

And played with Camille and walked all over the city (or what it seemed after hunting for a nonexistent Moroccan restaurant for hours).

And saw more awesome exhibits like this. Isn't natural history fun!?!

All that touring made us hungry for some famous Eastern Market breakfast

Then onto the conference for some learning and presenting

And maybe some of this happened

And WAY too much of this

Not enough of this

Some of this (always time for picture taking in DC--and don't be fooled, it wasn't as cold as it looks)

A little of this. Alisha presented at PAHO her preliminary findings from her fieldwork/project she worked on last summer in Ecuador. I was there as a support and to make sure PAHO remembered me.

And there was a whole lot of this: Alisha and Brea time! You guys need to go on more trips with us, we're a blast!

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the slide show. I think this was the last "cohort" trip we'll be taking. It was fun and we missed ALL of you!