My initial letter is full of optimism and enthusiasm and I’m happy to say that I was not wrong to feel that way. The past 10 weeks have taught me even more than I thought they would. While I have learned about Detroit, community work, and food access as I was expecting to, I have also been able to learn more about I want to go about pursuing my future goals. I know I want to go into public health after graduation but I have been questioning if I also want to go to medical school. I assumed that by having a medical degree, I would be more qualified and better able to help improve health outcomes. Through these 10 weeks I have come to realize that while a medical degree is definitely helpful for certain aspects of public health, it is not necessarily the best way to be able to have the largest impact working to alleviate health disparities, which is what I want to do. Knowing how to genuinely listen to a community and work with them to find and implement health interventions can be more crucial skills than having medical knowledge. I see now that it may be a more worthwhile use of time and energy to develop these skills than going to medical school if I want to make as large of an impact as possible. This realization has pushed me to want to continue on a more community-based public health track than I previously thought I wanted to pursue, specifically with food justice.
Meeting so many inspiring individuals who are doing incredible, successful work has made this path seem more tangible. It was difficult for me to imagine myself doing this type of work as I had little idea what was actually being done and how. It is reassuring to see that there are many people from all backgrounds and fields who are all working towards the same goal- an equitable society- and finding success. I have learned so much from these people and it has made me feel more confident in my choice to pursue a social and health justice path and my abilities to do so.
My perceptions of Detroit are more clear now that I have learned more about it’s history and what causes the issues faced here. I see how complex everything is and that there isn’t an easy answer to anything. Meeting everyone in our program who grew up here and so many community members through pop-ups and surveying gave me a new perspective that I could never have had before this program. Through these people I was able to see just what makes Detroit great- it’s residents- and how strong and resilient they are through the injustices many of them face. I’m sad to be leaving and hope to continue to stay connected to the city.
