Making a career in vaccine literacy | Making Public Health Personal Podcast Ep4

From Valedictorian to vaccine advocate, the path to a successful career is not a predictable one -- Especially when you are pursuing your Masters’ of Public Health degree during a pandemic. 2021 CUNY SPH Valedictorian Hannah Stuart Lathan shares her story with host Laura Meoli-Ferrigon in this episode. We’ll discuss some of Hannah Stuart’s research and efforts around vaccination, and find out about her journey to obtain her Masters of Public Health degree and onto a successful career.

Hannah Stuart is from South Carolina and graduated with a degree in Journalism and Public Health from the University of South Carolina Honors College. She then made her way to New York City, working as a sexual health educator and counselor and later pursuing her MPH in Community Health and Maternal, Child, Reproductive and Sexual Health from CUNY SPH, where she also received the Dean’s Academic Achievement Award. Her research with faculty began while she was a student at CUNY SPH, and she was able to work full time while completing her MPH degree program. The professional connections she made here at CUNY SPH set her up with opportunities that continued beyond graduation. She also credits the affordability of CUNY, which allowed her to graduate without student loan debt.

Currently, this hard working alumna is Program Manager for CONVINCE USA and the New York Vaccine Literacy Campaign at CUNY SPH, which supports community-based efforts to increase vaccine uptake through education and communication. She leads programmatic activities and events, and works to identify and mitigate concerns about vaccination. Her story is one that was not predictable, but surely is inspiring.

Episode Links:
Vaccine hesitancy research: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/epub...

Op-Ed on key considerations for employers contemplating covid 19 vaccine requirements: https://www.commonwealthfund.org/blog...

Vaccine Literacy Campaign and data: https://vaccineliteracycampaign.org/

Event videos from Vaccine Literacy Campaign at CUNY SPH (including, “Speaking to your loved ones about getting vaccinated”):    • Herd Immunity & the Beloved Community – NY...  

NYC vaccine referral bonusprogram: https://forms.cityofnewyork.us/f/Vacc...

CUNY SPH 2021 graduation: https://sph.cuny.edu/life-at-sph/news...

Download a Transcript of this Episode: https://www.dropbox.com/s/rjph50oth6d...