During her senior year of high school, Reagan Wiedenfeld, volunteered with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) on the agency’s Youth Preparedness Council. There, Wiedenfeld fell in love with emergency management, leading her to the School of Public and Population Health’s Public Health program.
Wiedenfeld will graduate with a Bachelor of Science in Public Health this spring. Read on to learn more about Wiedenfeld’s academic experience.
Q: What have you enjoyed most about your studies?
A: I have loved getting to know all of the people in the school. Even though we don’t really work on a cohort system, you start to get a lot of repeat classmates who you form strong relationships with, even with the instructors too. I like that we form those connections; it makes class more fun.
Q: What extracurricular activities were made an impact on your experience?
A: Oh man, what wasn’t I involved in? I am not someone who likes to be just a “member” of a group; I really want to be the one driving it. I spent over two years years working for Housing and Residence Life on campus as an RA. I got to live in towers for a year and a half, and then I moved to University Suites.
I rushed a sorority my sophomore year and joined Zeta Tau Alpha. That same year, I was elected the Vice President of Community Involvement on the Panhellenic Council (the council that oversees all sorority activity on campus). In that role, I was tasked with reviving the Greek Week tradition on campus and creating service learning events in the community. I am very proud of my time in that role.
I spent two years of my work study with Communities for Youth and met so many amazing people there.
And this year I picked up DASH Lab because I wanted to try data analytics. I think all of these things helped me feel involved and connected to campus and helped me explore what I like to do.
Q: How has your time in your program broadened your outlook on health or the health industry?
A: I have made so many great connections here. I went into college thinking I wanted to do emergency management and throughout my time realized there are so many cool jobs in sectors like global health, health education, sexual health, epidemiology and infectious diseases, and data. I’m feeling like the world is my oyster.
Q: What are you most looking forward to post-graduation (a job, travel, grad school, etc)?
A: Post-grad I am looking forward to starting my teaching position with Teach for America. I was recently placed in the Idaho community to teach secondary science. I am also looking forward to moving out of the dorms and having my very own girl apartment with my close girlfriends I have met through BSU!