“Attending the Mailman School of Public Health, was the most eye-opening and enlightening experience of my life.”

Through her undergraduate theater work at Oklahoma State University and coursework in the Department of Sociomedical Sciences in the Health Promotion Track, Meghan Jernigan has been able to merge her passions for the arts and social justice.

"Working my way through the Mailman curriculum crystallized my understanding of the structural forces that shape public health. I came to realize that I wanted to engage this generation in a public health discussion that currently doesn't exist," Meghan says to do this, she felt that "working with a group or agency that uses theater and movement to involve adolescents represents an alternative to the classic and often paternalistic approach to communicating health issues."

Since receiving her MPH, Meghan has served as Program Director for Hospital Audiences Inc., an organization that uses theater techniques to empower youth to critically analyze the impact of racism, violence, and peer pressure on their lives.

Her Mailman School experience also put Meghan's early exposure to public health problems into a solution oriented perspective. As a Native American -- a member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma - who grew up in Tulsa, OK -- Meghan received her own healthcare from the problem-plagued federal medical system for Native Americans. It was a challenge she tackled during her practicum in Washington, D.C. as an intern with the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs. There she performed legislative research and wrote papers intending to re-route healthcare funds for Native Americans into urban areas, where the majority reside.

Meghan also had the opportunity to work closely with her faculty mentor Dr. Naa Oyo A. Kwate, Assistant Professor of Sociomedical Sciences. Meghan was second author on an article titled Prevalence, Proximity and Predictors of Alcohol Ads in Central Harlem, published in the Journal of Alcohol and Alcoholism. With so much opportunity, openness to ideas, and diversity, Meghan says, "attending the Mailman School of Public Health was the most eye-opening and enlightening experience of my life"