Easily the best memory of my time during my grad program was the policy internship at the Texas capitol. Dr. Barbara Quiram made me apply and told me it was going to change my life. I had no idea what she meant but am eternally grateful for her direction. There were three of us from the SPH graduate program staffing the Texas House Public Health Committee for the 2013 legislative session. The chair of the committee was Representative Lois Kolkhorst, who is now a Senator and the chair of the senate health committee. Han Nguyen ‘12 was the committee director and Pader Moua and I were the committee clerks. Together we covered over 150 bills assigned to our committee, set up committee hearings, arranged witnesses, put together research and background on every bill, and drafted talking points and recommendations for the chair. It was the most intense 5 months of my life and the absolute best crash course in Texas health politics. Pader and I hurried down to College Station in the final days of the legislative session to graduate in May 2013, and then hurried back to finish up the session. This internship gave me lifelong friends with a shared interest in public health. We are in different parts of the country now doing different public health jobs but meet regularly to reconnect and encourage each other in our lives and work. Additionally, my policy internship cemented my love for public health policy. I am now the Director of Health Policy for an advocacy organization and was able to lead the advocacy efforts for HB12 this past session that extended Medicaid insurance for new moms from 2 months to 12 months postpartum. About 200k women every year will now get to keep their insurance for a year after pregnancy! I love that I get to work on issues that make Texas a healthier place for kids and their families. I like to say good policy can change lives, but good health policy can save lives.
