After two years, the USF College of Public Health (COPH) was able to celebrate the 2022 fall graduates virtually and in person on Dec. 9-10.

This semester, 456 undergraduates, 70 students seeking their master’s degree and seven doctoral students graduated and entered the public health profession.

On Dec. 9, the COPH welcomed master’s and doctoral students to a graduation ceremony presented at the college (and also livestreamed) to family, friends, students, faculty and staff. (Click here to view the full ceremony)

Dr. Donna Petersen, dean of the COPH, began the ceremony sharing the morning’s top news headlines. The dean noted that the public’s health is an ever-present concern (and news topic) for the country and the world.

Petersen highlight stories about Medicaid, children vaping, breast cancer drugs and pregnancy, COVID-19 booster age limits and respiratory problems from red tide.

“Why does that matter?” asked Petersen. “Because everything that happens in our environment affects our health.”

Every year, the COPH Excellence in Teaching awardee offers words of inspiration to the graduating class. This year’s speaker was Dr. Dinorah Martinez-Tyson, associate professor.

“My message to you is to be persistent, don’t let the fear of ‘what if’ ruin the joy of ‘what is’ or diminish what you are capable of. The world is full of possibilities, even the ones not planned,” Martinez-Tyson said. “As public health professionals and advocates, you are pursuing opportunities where you can have an impact on the world, where you can have meaningful careers that prevent illness, educate and inform policy, help those who are sick manage disease and keep our workplace and communities safe. While these are challenging times, I know that you have the knowledge, skills and passion necessary to create positive social change!”

Drs. Janice Zgibor and Jaime Corvin rounded out the ceremony, presenting the Class of 2022 with their degrees and class gifts.

Zgibor, professor and associate dean for Academic Affairs, introduced the doctoral students graduating.

“I’m so proud of the accomplishments that you have made. It’s taken some time, but you did it. I had the privilege of reading all of your projects and you have made an impact on public health today as we speak,” Zgibor said.

Moving onto the MPH and MSPH students, Corvin, associate professor and director of MPH programs, urged the graduates to stand up for the vulnerable, fight for the innocent and weak and advocate for change.

“Let nothing stand in the way of your drive and passion, and never cease to be inspired,” she said.

On Dec. 10, the undergraduate studies team celebrated BSHS and BSPH graduates with a stop-in photo booth session before the USF Health ceremony at the USF Yuengling Center.

Here are some of the stories from the Class of 2022:

As a labor and delivery nurse for more than 25 years, Adrienne Rizwan became interested in public health from her experiences in health care. After seeing her daughter graduate from USF, she decided to go back to school and earn her MPH in public health practice.

Her road to earning her MPH would be a difficult and challenging one, though.

“When I began my MPH in the fall of 2019, I had been struggling for three years with PTSD from a trauma I suffered in 2016,” she said. “I chose the degree to give my life some direction and purpose. At the same time, I also became a full-time caregiver to my elderly mother.”

Then in July 2020, she was hospitalized with severe pancreatitis of unknown origin. After several more attacks she was diagnosed with a congenital condition and was offered a life-threatening procedure that had a 50 percent chance of success.

While she struggled to finish her degree with the possibility she might die, Rizwan persevered and continued her education. She is thankful to say that the procedure worked and proud to say that she did it.

“Throughout my hospitalizations and surgeries, I continued to meet my deadlines for school and was very grateful for the kindness of professors who told me to put my health first,” she said. “So here I am at the finish line, only one year longer than originally planned! I’m lucky and thankful to be alive and to be able to enjoy my beautiful family again.”

After earning his PharmD degree from the University of Minnesota, Zachary Nelson became interested in public health after he worked in an urban emergency department that helped an underserved community. He said it was clear that not everyone had the same opportunities to be healthy.

“I chose USF for my MPH in infection control because of its strong leadership and the strong testimonials from students whom I know that also are USF COPH alumni,” he said. “I also really appreciated, as a working professional, how flexible the schedule was, the support I received and how affordable the program is in comparison to other top-tier public health schools.”

Nelson said a huge challenge he had during his program was working in a hospital and seeing the devastation caused my COVID-19.

“We all struggled with the pandemic, but working within the hospital and seeing the true, real devastation caused by SARS-CoV-2 while trying to maintain some semblance of normalcy was extremely challenging,” he said. “For that, I credit my wonderful coworkers at Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis, my partner Drew, my understanding family and friends and my USF support system.”

After graduation, Nelson is planning on using his education to step outside of direct patient care to provide more population-level expertise regarding antimicrobial resistance and diagnostic stewardship.

“I also am working as a consultant at the Minnesota Department of Health to help hospitals throughout Minnesota, especially those with fewer resources, implement evidence-based antimicrobial use practices and sustainable surveillance systems,” he said. “I hope to break into a role in hospital epidemiology, which has historically been filled by physicians. I would love to demonstrate the role that other health professions can play in this field.”

Madison Sanders always dreamed of becoming an attorney. After taking a few undergraduate courses about health care at Christian Brothers University in Memphis, Tenn., she decided to focus in on health law.

“I took medical ethics as an undergraduate and became so passionate about medical law and how policy affects our health,” she said. “I saw that USF offered a health policies and programs concentration where I could take law courses in health care law and health care ethics and knew I would absolutely love it here!”

Sanders said she chose to attend the COPH for her MPH because it had the largest variety of concentrations as well as a range of faculty with different research backgrounds. She also saw that several COPH faculty also attended Stetson Law School in Gulfport, Fla., which she will be applying to soon.

One of Sanders proudest accomplishments was passing the CPH exam and working with Drs. Ellen Daley, professor and associate dean of research and practice, and Karen Liller, Distinguished USF Health Professor and director of the Activist Lab.

“I am so proud about passing the CPH exam and being given the opportunity to work as a graduate research assistant for both Drs. Daley and Liller,” she said. “I was also able to be a guest speaker for undergraduate COPH students, health scholars and middle and high school students at Freedom and Liberty!”

After graduation, Sanders will be working as a full-time coordinator and analyst for Liller and the USF Activist Lab. She is also studying to take the LSAT in February to begin law school applications.

Story by Caitlin Keough, USF College of Public Health