My winter break was great. By the end I had forgotten what it feels like to have a schedule and responsibilities. One highlight is that I saw the elephant seals in San Simeon. Every winter they settle onto the California coast to mate and give birth, and what a sight! Hundreds of blubbery, beautiful seals nestled together, just 10 feet away from Highway 1.
The start of this semester feels very different than the start of the last one. I remember starting last fall frenetically trying to figure out which career trajectory I wanted to focus on – I thought it would be important to do this to get the most out of the program. This semester I’m more laid back. I see that most skills are transferable from one industry to another, so I’m focusing on gathering these general skills and absorbing as much public health as I can.
Geoffrey Canada, founder of the Harlem Children’s Zone, is a leader who inspires me. Canada had a strong vision: he drew a line around a poor 24-block neighborhood in Harlem and vowed that all the children born in the neighborhood would graduate from high-school, because he would build a web of programs and resources so supportive that they couldn’t fall through it. His programs have been enormously successful . I admire Geoffrey Canada as a leader because he has an inspiring yet concrete vision. An important lesson to learn from his example is that as a leader you can set expectations very high if you also give a community the resources it needs to succeed.
