Her Story
About Katelyn
I got into the public health field because I had gone overseas to Kenya during my bachelor degree and saw the need for preventing diseases, and really wanted to be part of stopping diseases before they start and reducing the amount of chronic diseases. It's a need worldwide, not just in Kenya, but here as well. I've been passionate about the medical field, but I didn't really want the blood and guts of nursing or something clinical, so I really enjoyed the preventative side and health promotion side of educating people on how to stay healthy to have long and happy lives. As a Parent Educator with the Wayne County Family Enrichment Program, I perform home visits with families and do developmental screenings for children 0 to age 3, completing home visit reports using the PAT (Parents as Teachers) national curriculum and following the Illinois State Board of Education guidelines for our program. I value compassion, kindness, equality of care, and cultural diversity, and I believe that if you do what you love, you will never work a day in your life.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Katelyn
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to each person who has helped me along the way, especially my parents, and most of all, to God.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I've ever received is what my mom always told me growing up: that if you do what you love, you will never work a day in your life. I definitely believe in that.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I would say that coming into public health from a non-clinical background can be intimidating, but I've found great success in the field, in school, and now that I'm actually working a full-time job. So, don't be afraid to come with a different perspective to the table, because sometimes that is actually what is needed and wanted in the public health field. If we all have the same clinical perspective, there wouldn't be as much room for creativity in treatments and interventions.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
I think that right now, there's a lot of opportunities in the public health field because the current administration is putting a lot of funding towards public health issues. There's been a media spotlight, especially on the field of public health, and the nation as a whole, it seems, is trending towards wanting to be healthier, wanting to have less dyes in our foods, wanting to have less processed foods, exercise more, and just regain healthiness overall, and that's a big part of preventing disease. So I think there's a lot of opportunities in the health field coming up, especially for public health, because people are now starting to realize that prevention is better than treatment.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
The values most important to me are compassion, kindness, and equality of care. I also value cultural diversity and learning about new cultures, which has been shaped by my experiences studying abroad and working in public health.
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