About Shanelle
Hi! It's me.
The Preliminary Stage: "What exactly is going on here?"
When I enrolled at Clemson University in 2021, I had misconceptions about what “public health” really meant and how its application could extend to impact my own life. I had consciously heard the phrase perhaps four times in my entire life. By then, I was mainly concerned with pursuing a career in the dental sciences and was very closed off to the idea of veering off that path. In my household, getting a college degree meant putting in the time and money to end up with even more time and money; you had to end up with a six-figure job. Otherwise, what was the point? With that idea at the core, I structured out my first ‘four-year plan’ to accommodate prerequisite courses requested and often required by dental schools in the state of South Carolina. In my head, I had a decent shot at attaining this goal; I was a bilingual minority who had experience overcoming adversity, and studying a unique major. I had the grades, and, most importantly, I had the drive... Did I not?
The "But I'm getting there!" Stage
Now, I can confidently attest to the only drive in my life being the desire for security: I want to be secure in my finances and economic capabilities; I want to be secure in a job that will allow me to provide for my mother and our feline companions; I want to be secure under a roof that will still be covering my head in the morning; and I want to be secure in knowing what I did in life changed someone’s life for the better -- that it mattered. Long gone are the days I would sit through a higher-level science course, wondering how I could possibly manage another decade of it. I no longer see the clinical application of health as the most effective way of targeting and intervening in problems in health. Instead, I now understand that true power lies in preventing illness and promoting healthful behavior through active involvement, service, research, implementation, and education— the core principles of public health.
Throughout the three years of college life that quickly vanished before me, I came to recognze the immense value of simultaneously majoring in a modern language and the public health sciences. This program has allowed me to explore larger health concerns, witness cultural insensitivity, and identify disadvantaged and vulnerable populations. I mostly accomplished this by studying the Social Determinants of Health and their protective or hazardous role in addressing current inequities and disparities in health. Before exposure to topics such as these, I can truthfully admit to having only considered the existence of two socio-economically disadvantaged populations: impoverished Americans and impoverished children. These were groups I either identified with on a day-to-day basis or was constantly reminded of on television commercials. My knowledge of inequitable socio-economic conditions of life has since expanded, and while I understand that having a roof over your head, food on the table, and clothes on your back is more than can be said for many, I still consider it a threat to decent living as it heavily burdens communities across the globe— and outside our own backyards.
Now, as I consider my next steps in pursuing a career and further education in public health, I’m grateful to have experienced everything I did up to this point. My time at Clemson University was more than just an academic experience—it was a journey of discovering the ideas, values, and concepts I treasure most and deciding where my skills and expertise can be best offered. Driven by my own desire to achieve financial stability at home, I started this journey of my life with a narrow perception of what my career and future should look like. As I look ahead this time, I leave with confidence in what I believe can be done to improve health outcomes and reduce social disparities for all so that entire communities don’t lie awake at night wondering if this is all life has to offer. Through my studies of the Spanish language, research in the health sciences, and experiences fostering cultural humility domestically and abroad, I have learned the power of prevention, the importance of addressing socioeconomic disparity head-on, and the unlimited influences we can have on individuals and communities when we go beyond doing just what we’re comfortable with.
