Pathways to Public Health: Advancing Health Equity Through Professional Development (2025)

This project immersed students in advancing health equity and professional development. Through participation in NYU’s Health Equity Symposium focused on cultivating a diverse health workforce, students learned the latest strategies and research on addressing health disparities and engaged in high-level discussions. Students participated in service-learning with Housing Works NYC, including site visits to their thrift shop, harm reduction center, and NY’s first legal cannabis dispensary. This provided exposure to innovative interventions with diversified, sustainable funding models, where students applied classroom knowledge and connected theory to practice, empowering them to become stronger public health leaders. Student evaluations showed transformative outcomes, including greater understanding of health equity, increased self-efficacy in applying harm reduction principles, and broadened career aspirations. Students critically examined systemic exclusion and identified ways to drive change in the field, which mirror many North Country challenges: health disparities, substance use, poverty, housing insecurity, and limited access to care and education.