She is in the College of Human Ecology majoring in human biology, health, and society with a minor in infectious disease. With that background, it should be obvious why she and the global health enthusiasts at Minerva hooked up for a summer fling. Minerva: Your major and minor are focused on hardcore science. Why did you reach out to Minerva, a communications consultancy, for an internship?
Malia: Well, most people in my major are looking to go into medicine and become doctors. I want to focus my career on systemic change, research, and getting information out to the public.
Better communication skills will improve my ability to do this work. I also want to gain the confidence to work as a consultant. I want to learn what it takes to come in, learn, and give advice to people in a way that is helpful and effective. Plus, Minerva clients seemed like a great group of organizations to understand and get to know.
What needs to change first about the current system of public health in the US? Number one is in the trenches of research. Stop getting so wrapped up in the politics. First, they have an excellent science program, and they have a gymnastics team that I wanted to be part of. I also wanted to see what the east side of the country is all about and get away from home for a while. Ithaca is beautiful. I can be out my front door and at the foot of a waterfall in seven minutes.
I look forward to returning to the Pacific Northwest after I graduate next year. Talk to me about your daily routine. How do you balance school and sports? Then I head to my first class at 10 am, which is, unfortunately, organic chemistry. After that, at least this past semester, I was a TA for anatomy and loved it. After that, I head up to the vet school to work on my research project in an infectious disease lab. I work with Ebola because infectious diseases are really cool.
