What if people lived healthier lives, practiced preventive medicine, and took precautions against illness

and disease? My days in the primary health care department often made me think about the prevention
of injuries as well as the injuries themselves. I remember working as an intern at a primary health
center, I witnessed a lot of young individuals that come for testing for HIV and the test results usually
turns out to be positive, Will I call this negligence on the part of these youths? or enough awareness was
not carried out to stem the prevalence of contracting such diseases.

I have chosen to study public health at the masters level because this course will give me the
opportunity to impact people’s health in a unique way, and will prepare me adequately to remediate
the health care system of my country. I am particularly interested in environmental health and
epidemiology.

I am a graduate of Biochemistry. My interest in this course stemmed from my love for biology in high
school and the discovery that biochemistry is a discipline that comprehensively studies the intricacies of
biological principles. Whilst studying for my Bachelor’s degree, my passion for the course grew, during
the course of my study I wrote a seminar article on Erythroblastosis fetalis and my undergraduate
research project was an analysis on effects of chrysophyllum albidum juice on glucotoxicity in drosophila
melanogater. C. albidum has been reported to have the highest content of ascorbic acid and from this
research it was observed that C.albidum effectively reduced free radicals damage in Drosophila
melanogaster. Therefore C.albidum can serve as a potent medicinal plant for Diabetes mellitus and
heart diseases. I have always been interested in disease diagnosis and analysis of novel diagnostic
agents, as I believe it holds the key to significant reduction of community’s disease prevalence.

Prior to graduation, as me and my course mates made decisions on which career path to take, I noticed
that the majority wanted to go on to medical school. A few others had decided they would stay within
the field of biochemistry, analysts, or workers in pharmaceutical, water, chemical and other related
fields. Although these were promising aspirations, I knew they were not for me. I sought something
more. I wanted a master’s degree, one that would enable me put the biological and analytical skills
garnered from my first degree to good use, in helping people and my environment. By sheer serendipity,
I came across public health at a seminar, as I listened to experts speak about contemporary health
issues, I was intrigued. The world of “capitation”, “rationing of care”, and Medicaid fascinated me as I
saw the range of professionals were trying to solve in innovative ways. This seminar provided me with a
basic but thorough understanding of the issues faced in health care today. Since then I have become
much aware of the issues that stem from a discord between socioeconomic determinants and health
system. The gap between the general public and health care workers. The issues of urban-rural division
and also low income coverage are becoming more and more evident in the world today. I must say this
has made me hungry to have a career in public health, much particularly, to give back to the people and
my community at large.

The constitution of the World Health Organization {WHO} says ‘the highest attainable health standard as
a fundamental right for every human being’ and this has been a strong force in my determination to
work in the field of Public Health. Because field experience is a valuable tool, I searched for an
environmental agency that would allow me view public health at a different level. I worked as a Project
Assistant at Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency. This agency enforces stringent rules to
protect and improve the environment and safeguard the water, air and land, forest and wild life of
Nigeria. I participated in assisting public and private organizations, industries, businesses and non-
governmental organizations to achieve compliance by providing environment friendly solutions to varied
environmental challenges. Working for this agency exposed me to a different side of public health I had
previously seen. The internship provided me with a greater understanding of a federal public health
agency’s operations and allowed me to contribute in a variety of ways to the water analysis Department
in which I worked. Most importantly I worked on “policy issues” which involved identifying and
summarizing problems that were out of the ordinary as well as documenting resolved issues in order to
establish protocols to increase the department’s efficiency.

Along with my duties at Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency, I attended seminars and met with
public health leaders at different functions and events. All these activities confirmed my growing
interest in preventive medicine, outcomes and effectiveness and quality of care, particularly within the
private/managed care sector. These are my strongest interests because I believe they are fundamental
to our nation’s health. We must achieve efficiency and access without sacrificing quality.

During my national youth service, I took it upon myself to take a course on Health, Safety and
Environment because safety comes first in our daily activities, to what we eat because it is highly
reflective in our physical, mental and overall state of well-being. I also did community services that
include free screening tests to check for HIV, also talking about preventive measures to avoid
contracting such a disease.

The University of …………… would help me achieve my goals of furthering my public health education
through the specialized coursework offered as part of its health program. I welcome the challenge of
serving a large community and participating in such a dynamic and challenging field. What if an aspirin a
day could prevent heart attacks? What if abandoning unnecessary procedures saved thousands of
dollars, which then allowed a hospital to treat other patients needing care? What if every person was
guaranteed care and that care was good? I would like to find answers for these questions during my
career as a public health graduate student and professional.