Janelle Finney

I've always wanted to help people ever since I was a little girl. Growing up in San Francisco with immigrant parents, they always taught me to give back to the community and never forget where I came from, and that's always been in my head. When I started college, I focused on exercise science because I've always been into kinesiology, but as I progressed with my studies, I started taking public health classes and realized that's really what I wanted to do. My senior year is when I officially transferred into health promotion. I graduated two years ago, so I've been in this field officially for about three years, though unofficially since I was a little girl. Currently, I work at a medical clinic where most of our patients are below the poverty line, and some are unhoused or have government assistance. My title is health and wellness coach, though it's essentially the same thing as being a case manager. I've been at this job for about 10 months now. Before this, I worked for Healthy Choices AmeriCorps at a pre-K to 8 school, which was one of my favorite jobs. I worked primarily with a second grade class, a small group of third graders, and some middle school girls. That job taught me the most about what I want to do with my career because I'd never worked with kids to that capacity before. I learned that I do well with all kids, though I prefer the older range because I can joke around with them but also sit them down and help them figure things out. Being Black and Latina, I know how important representation is. Growing up, there weren't a lot of good examples in media showing that you really can do whatever you want to do with your life. I wish I had someone who looked like me or understood what I was going through to support me and say, 'This is what I did, maybe this might be helpful for you.' At the end of the year with those kids, it was really sweet when they'd come up to me for personal problems or help with homework, asking 'What do you do?' My main focus is to bridge the gap in healthcare because I've always seen that gap, and that's what has pushed me into doing public health. I originally wanted to be a nurse because I wanted to help people, but then I realized I want to help underserved populations get very basic needs that they're not getting just because of where they are. I want my impact to last and be more impactful, not for me, but to improve the overall health of a community for generations. Eventually, I do want to work at the CDC or WHO, but I'm not in a rush to get there.