Alyssa Crawford, MSPH ‘11

What was your favorite academic experience?

Schools and Health (4th Quarter) with Dr. Cheryl De Pinto. I got so engrossed in the final paper (probably to the detriment of my other coursework) and was fascinated by the school health model. I particularly appreciated the intersection of policy and evidence-based practice, as well as the political complexities of implementing health-based efforts in school-based settings. I spent the six months immediately before enrolling at JHSPH as an intern for the Education Committee of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, and I wish I had the knowledge I gained during that course at my advantage during that experience.

Where was your internship, if you had one during your program?

Maternal and Child Health Bureau, Health Resources and Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

What was the topic of your Masters Essay?

The title was "Training Experiences: Lessons from the Past and Implications for the Future." The essay was an assessment of feedback from current and former maternal and child health (MCH) trainees during two web-based “townhall” meetings about their experiences and their feedback about strategic goals for the future of MCH training.

How has your Master’s Degree contributed to your current line of work?

The knowledge and skills I gained in my coursework has been invaluable to my work. The courses I took helped refine my understanding of statistics, study design and policy analysis in a way that is immediately transferrable to my responsibilities at Mathematica. Furthermore, the experiences I gained through my internship and other activities helped me strengthen my leadership capacity and strategic thinking skills, both of which help me not only contribute to but also make a real difference in my projects.