From Olympic Dreams to Fighting for Health Equity
“I am constantly reminded of the state of the health systems around me, and the drive to do anything to potentially improve it feels as though it is my duty and also my own choice.”
Emerging Leaders: Intern Spotlight
Sarah Kim, MPH
2024 Marketing & Community Engagement Intern
Promoting Health and Wellness
Everyone’s passion, journey, and career is so unique to one another and I believe my journey with Public Health has been one that has been a long-time coming. I am in my final steps to completing my Master of Public Health degree and I find myself reflecting on my past as I begin to transition into the next chapter of my life.
My journey into Public Health was completely unplanned but through my human experiences. I truly identify with my career as a competitive Figure Skater to why I value health and wellness so much. It is what led me to one of my first passions, exercise and physical health. The foundation of our training is built on physical ability, proper nutrition, and mental strength. Unfortunately, I had to prematurely retire from my athletic career due to a major injury where I broke my pelvis. It was just another day of training at the ice rink, and I landed wrong on a triple jump. I carried a massive weight of devastation on my shoulders throughout those days afterward, as I knew that this was a major blow to my chances at the 2014 and 2018 Winter Olympic games. Up until I hung up my skates for the last time, all I ever knew was figure skating. I didn’t even think about college until I came to the understanding that I didn’t have much else to do. And that’s exactly what I did. I went to get my Bachelor’s Degree.
I am the first in my family to go to college and graduate with a degree so I felt like a fish out of water trying to navigate through all 4 years myself. Like I mentioned before, I never really thought much about college, so I never thought about clubs, organizations and sororities, or majors. I figured that my major had to be something I was confident in, so I chose Exercise Science since I had an athletic background. With my degree in mind, I was always set on going to Physical Therapy school since I enjoyed it throughout recovery from my injury. During the last semester of Junior year, I decided to add a Public Health Minor to my Bachelor’s after taking one introductory course in the subject as an elective. I recall taking the class and finding myself feeling fired up with every discussion about the social determinants of health or different disparities that stunt the development towards health equity. I went through my last year of college racking up the credits to the minor and withdrew my application to a Physical Therapy program in hopes that there was something else for me.
Throughout the years following college and into my years in the MPH program at George Washington University, I had gained more knowledge and life experiences in different subtopics in health to push me farther to where I may one day want to be. I gained a passion for cardiovascular health intervention in America as it was known as one of the top reasons for deaths in the country. I grew a passion for health advocacy in Asians as I learned to recognize the cultural insensitivities and injustices in health systems from my personal past and when I witnessed my late father fight his battle with Kidney and Bladder cancer. I also found a growing passion for mental health awareness and advocacy as I witnessed my dear mother learn to live through grief. I am constantly reminded of the state of the health systems around me and the drive to do anything to potentially improve it feels as though it is my duty and also my own choice. Among these passions, I have also found my own strengths and interests in this field. I have learned that I value and love to continue to learn so I am interested in conferences, webinars, and seminars, as well as participating in them.
I find that one of my greatest strengths is serving as a liaison or means of communication, and I pride myself on the fact that I am not only excellent at public speaking but I actually enjoy it. I also learned that I enjoy promoting health topics, which was a major task in my internship with SPHC. At SPHC, I worked with a team of interns and with Nia, our supervisor and CEO, to develop posters, blogs, posters, and newsletters that highlight health topics. I learned a lot about the technical side to marketing, and also several aspects of social marketing, such as how to catch a reader’s eye and how to increase continuous engagement. I am so grateful for my time and experience with Smart Public Health Consulting as I know that it has fed that fire within me. I see my internship with Nia Smart as my supervisor and mentor, and my two peers, Olivia Smith and Kristen Glick, as not only an academic and professional experience but another life experience that I will always think back to as a stepping stone in fulfilling my own goals. I am filled with gratitude to have been able to get to know these ladies in this transitional chapter. I wonder where it will take me next.
