My future

On a more personal note, I found out a few weeks ago that I was accepted to a masters program at Johns Hopkins School of Public Health in the International Health Department. I will be in the 'Social and Behavioral Interventions' program, a broad, multidisciplinary program that looks at "development, implementation, and evaluation of disease prevention and control in such areas as HIV prevention, nutritional interventions, malaria control, and a host of other topic areas relevant to the enhancement of health in developing countries."

People in this program concentrate on a variety of fields ranging from maternal health issues to HIV education to community mobilization. I don't know with area I will specialize in, but I am very interested in many health issues in developing countries, so I am sure I will find my niche.

From what I understand, the first year will be spent taking classes at the campus in Baltimore, followed by a 4-6 month internship in a developing country, then (I believe) a few months will focus on a thesis or large-scale research project. Right now, I plan to start in September 2009. I will defer for a year so I have time to travel for a few months after Peace Corps, and spend a few months saving some money before I become a poor student once again.

I am extremely excited about this program and think it will be a perfect fit for my interests and strenghts. And while I am not exactly sure where my life is going to take me, I am confident that this program will take me one more step in the right direction.