Charting a Course for a Public Health Career
A lot can change in a year. This time last year, Ethan was an undergraduate studying public health with only broad ideas about how he wanted to turn his academic interest into a career. Today, he’s a college graduate, a Public Health Corps alumnus, and has already landed a full-time position in community health.
“I'm a public health specialist at Steele County Public Health and do Statewide Health Improvement Partnership coordination,” says Ethan.
Ethan didn’t plan on going into public health but couldn’t be happier about the path that led him to where he is now. He enrolled at the University of Wisconsin, La Crosse in 2018 with the goal of studying infectious disease through a microbiology degree. As he dug into the subject, Ethan realized that he didn’t love spending all his time in the lab and wanted to do work where he could engage with others.
Following that desire, he changed his major to epidemiology, a subject where he would do more work with people face-to-face. The coursework was an improvement, but when he took a class on public and community health, he knew he needed to change majors one more time.
Diving into Community Health
As part of the Public Health program, Ethan needed to complete a preceptorship – a type of apprenticeship for certain healthcare workers. A peer tipped him off to Public Health Corps, and Ethan discovered that service would help him with two goals. Not only would AmeriCorps count for his preceptorship, it was exactly the kind of real-world experience that could help him decide if he should pursue a graduate degree or dive straight into the working world.
“I was able to double dip!” he says with a laugh. Public Health Corps was just the program he hoped it would be. “I helped out with the communications planning and getting a strategic plan together, beefed up our website, and helped with flu clinics and community engagement events. Public Health Corps really broadened my horizons and kept me engaged and active in this setting.”
Ethan relishes the wide range of ways that he got to engage with the Steele County community through Public Health Corps. Service allowed Ethan to gain insight into how local public health projects and initiatives are funded. This process was a great learning experience and an amazing opportunity for what he called “social connection.”
Connecting to the Next Generation
One of the most memorable moments of social connection for Ethan was working with students at Owatonna High School as part of a career fair. He and a few others from Steele County Public Health set up an information booth about what their office does, and just as importantly, how a career in public health can take many different forms.
“You have your health education, your community health outreach, nursing... those are things you might think of right away. But then there's IT, public health communications, business accounting, grant management too,” says Ethan. “It was great asking them what they're interested in studying and tying that back into public health.”
As a recent grad himself, Ethan could speak firsthand about the ways that Public Health Corps and serving in the field helped connect his academic interests with his desire to give back. The chance to connect with students left a deep impression.
“There are students who just want to help people and improve their community. That's the common thread through what public health does.”
As it turns out, Ethan’s chance to improve his community came earlier than he anticipated. In February 2024 – before his year with Public Health Corps had even finished – the director at Steele County Public Health asked him what his career plans were. With an opening on the team due to a recent retirement, the director of Steele County Public Health encouraged Ethan to consider applying.
Kicking Off His Career
He got the job and that March, Ethan worked with Public Health Corps staff to fulfill his service commitment while transitioning into becoming the county’s newest public health specialist. Not only does the new position mean diving deeper into the community connections that he loves, but now Ethan also gets to be the supervisor for incoming Public Health Corps members.
“We have one member currently in her second term who will be done this month, but we’re getting another this summer and then we just took on an intern from UW Lacrosse for her preceptorship!” he says. “It's cool to kind of be that mentor for others.”
Ethan hopes that his experience as a recent grad, a Public Health Corps member, and now a full-time worker in the industry can inspire others to enter the field. He has found the work to be every bit as fulfilling as it has been interesting.
“My favorite thing is working with community partners. We work closely with our United Way and our food shelf. It’s great to go see how they work, figure out how we can partner with them, and find out how we can support them,” says Ethan. “It's just really great to make those connections and bridge that gap between the need in the community and assets in the community.”
Do you want to promote healthy living in your community and become a part of the next generation of public health leaders? Join Public Health Corps! Learn more and explore opportunities at ampact.us/public-health.