COPH Alumni

Alumni News

More than 6,200 alumni chose the USF College of Public Health to be their academic home. They live throughout the United States and in remote areas around the world. Outside of Florida, the largest concentrations of alumni work in metro-Atlanta and in metro-Washington, DC.

COPH alumni are surveyed one year after graduation. The most recent survey of MPH respondents indicated 95% are employed, in continuing education, or a training program one year after graduation. The majority work with a government agency (31%) and health care organizations (25%). Some of the employers where alumni practice their passion include Amazon, USAID, NIH, CDC, Humana, The Carter Center, NASA, Johnson & Johnson, US FDA, Bausch & Lomb, Inc. and more!


3/24/2023
Haley Maxwell’s interest in public health began when she served as a scribe for a urogynecologist who had a public health degree in addition to a medical one. “I loved the way she practiced medicine because she treated each person individually, according to their conditions,” said Maxwell, who graduated USF’s College of Public Health (COPH) in 2021 with an MPH. “Whenever patients with complex … [read more]
3/10/2023
Heather Walders approaches mental health and well-being holistically. As a mental health outreach clinician at the USF Counseling Center, Walders uses her background in social work, public health and yoga to consider how social pressures and current events impact her student clients. Throughout the semester, Walders facilitates workshops, visits residential students and conducts weekly couns … [read more]
3/10/2023
Sherri Berger, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) acting deputy director for policy, communications and legislative affairs and a USF College of Public Health (COPH) alumna, has received the Robert W. Jones Award for Executive Leadership. Sherri Berger, MSPH. (Photo courtesy of the CDC) The award recognizes and honors federal career executives for the Senior Executive S … [read more]
2/27/2023
A USF College of Public Health and Center for Homeland Defense and Security Master’s alumnus has been recognized with top awards for playing a key role in the Operation Warp Speed initiative aimed at rapidly developing a COVID-19 vaccine while serving as a visiting professor at the U.S. Army War College (USAWC).  USF College of Public Health alum Dr. Eric Powell. (Photo courtesy of Powell) … [read more]
2/27/2023
My journey to becoming a genetic counselor, like many others, was filled with challenges and uncertainties. However, unlike my peers, I happened to be a DACAmented student (or DREAMer), and this came with a unique set of difficulties and pain lasting almost a decade. One month after I started working as a genetic counselor, I received a call from my immigration attorney to inform me that I had … [read more]
2/10/2023
Leandra Olson got her first real introduction to public health when she was a junior in college at the University of Minnesota, taking part in an internship with the Minnesota Vikings Children’s Fund that focused on childhood obesity. “A mentor at the time noticed that I seemed to have more of an interest in population-level health rather than clinical services,” said Olson, who grew up in Nor … [read more]