Andrea Gabriel, Economics and Statistics Major, Public Health & Society Minor (undeclared)

Recorded Friday, February 13, 2026

What made you want to be a student ambassador?

I think when first coming to St. Louis, I was pretty nervous in terms of being in this new environment. And I had seen the position being advertised in one of my public health classes, and immediately thought it'd be the perfect opportunity for me. I was always interested in learning about health and how it impacts the world around us.

What has been your favorite public health class so far?

My favorite public health class has been the Research Methods in Health and Society, since I felt that I learned a lot of practical skills that I use now in the lab that I'm working in. So whether that's learning how to analyze data, learning about the IRB or biases that are integrated in data, and being just conscious about those factors while working within the lab. And I think It's just allowed me to be more self-aware with how I'm interpreting different things.

What is one thing you think everyone should know about public health?

I think one of the topics that continues to draw me are health disparities or health inaccessibility. Actually, this past week in my Global Health class we had a guest speaker come in who was a part of the QuEST Network, and they specifically talked about the disparities that are within the health system. And I think as not only a WashU student, but now as a St. Louis resident, I think it's important to acknowledge kind of the disparities that are presently occurring within the city, and to become more educated to hopefully make some sort of impact within that issue.

What is one thing you're looking forward to?

I'm most excited to keep on working with Dr. Stark's lab, at the Center for Violence and Injury Prevention. As a freshman, I'm still getting adjusted with many things and I'm learning from everyone. So whether that's working with the SALaMA PhotoVoice project or with Virtual Safe Spaces in collaboration with UNICEF, I think to a certain extent, we're making an impact in the world, and I think that's incredibly fulfilling. So I'm excited to keep working with them.

Learn more about the Public Health & Society Student Ambassador program.