Q&A with Mia and Ketan about Foundations in Public Health

Mia Kouveliotes and Ketan Tamirisa recently sat down with MPH student Sophie Waimon to discuss PUBHLTHSOC 1000 - Foundations in Public Health. Mia is a senior in Anthropology (Global Health and Environment track) with a Public Health & Society minor. Ketan is a sophomore Biology major with a Global Health and Environment minor. They both took Foundations in Public Health last fall.

Mia, who was the most memorable guest speaker?

“I really enjoyed one of our first guest speakers. His name was Dr. Nhial Tutlam and he really emphasized the combination of physical and psychosocial health and which was really relevant to my future career.”

Ketan, what was the most interesting part of Foundations in Public Health?

“It was was really interesting learning about social determinants of health. The community someone grows up and can play a huge role in population health outcomes beyond just genetic factors.”

Mia added that “public health really can be applied to anything… It's truly an interdisciplinary field.”

Mia, who should take Foundations in Public Health?

“Everyone! It's a really great class to get a basic overview of for public health. It provides the opportunity for people across all different disciplines to see how health and human interaction apply to the real world.”

Do you have any advice for incoming students, Ketan?

“Sometimes public health courses can be a bit challenging. For example, in Foundations in Public Health, we talked about ethics, and that is a difficult subject… And so, not being afraid to ask those questions, no matter how big or small. I think that's a really important skill that I've learned through the public health course.”

Want to take PUBHLTHSOC 1000 – Foundations in Public Health?

Enroll for the Fall ’25 semester

Thanks again to Mia, Ketan, and Sophie for putting this Q&A together.