{"id":2984,"date":"2023-08-18T15:37:50","date_gmt":"2023-08-18T22:37:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pacific.edu\/blog\/?p=2984"},"modified":"2024-04-22T10:37:22","modified_gmt":"2024-04-22T17:37:22","slug":"alumna-finds-passion-for-public-health-at-pacific","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pacific.edu\/blog\/2023\/08\/18\/alumna-finds-passion-for-public-health-at-pacific\/","title":{"rendered":"Alumna finds passion for public health at Pacific"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Name: <\/strong>Katie Lim<\/p>\n\n\n\n Graduation year: <\/strong>May 2023<\/p>\n\n\n\n Major\/minors:<\/strong> BS Health studies (now called public health and community wellness), economics minor<\/p>\n\n\n\n Experiential learning: <\/strong>Pre-Health Society, Health Policy Intern at St. Joseph\u2019s Medical Center<\/p>\n\n\n\n Post-grad job: <\/strong>Medical scribe<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hometown: <\/strong>Stockton, CA<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n Katie Lim started her college career as a chemistry<\/a> major, but quickly realized she wasn\u2019t interested in a clinical pathway. When she switched her major to health studies (now called public health and community wellness), she found a passion for public health and community on campus with like-minded professors and students interested in making a difference in the health care field.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Why did you decide to attend Pacific?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n I grew up in Stockton and I\u2019ve lived here my whole life. For my first year of college, I was at a different university but I felt like it wasn\u2019t the right fit for me. The classes were a lot bigger and I didn’t have as much contact with my professors because there were so many students. <\/ins><\/p>\n\n\n\n When I decided to come back to Stockton and attend Pacific, I had more of a personal connection with my professors and I felt like I was truly a part of the Pacific community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Are there any specific professors that really impacted you?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n I had a really close-knit relationship with Dr. Peter Wang, Dr. Suzanne Cox, and Dr. Allison Alkon. They supported me as a student, and also a human being. I felt like I could talk to them about what was going on in my personal life in addition to asking for help with the class materials. <\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019ve been able to ask for their advice, even after graduating from Pacific. For example, I asked them for letters of recommendation and advice when I applied to jobs and various internship programs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What made you want to go into health studies (public health)<\/strong>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n I was originally a chemistry major but after taking the upper division classes, I realized that it wasn’t what I wanted to study anymore. I switched my major to biology<\/a>, but I still didn\u2019t enjoy what I was studying. I realized that I didn\u2019t want to work in the clinical side of health care, such as performing surgery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At that point, I wasn\u2019t sure what I would do next. Then I looked through the catalog of majors and I noticed health studies (public health<\/a>). The classes focused more on the psychosocial aspect of health, which interested me a lot more. After switching my major, I definitely noticed that I felt more engaged in my classes. I felt like I could really see myself working in public health in the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n