grad students

Social work breaks barriers

Tarang Parekh, PhD candidate in Health Services Research in the Department of Health Administration and Policy (HAP), received a 2021 American Public Health Association (APHA) Career Enhancement Student Scholarship Award for his outstanding peer-reviewed abstract submission, which was selected for an oral presentation by the Disability Section abstract review committee. The virtual oral presentation occurred on Sunday, October 24, 2021.

For Master of Public Health (MPH) student Jorge Garcia, the COVID-19 pandemic provided an opportunity to obtain real-world experience in infectious disease surveillance by applying the skills he learned throughout his MPH courses while working at the Fairfax County Health Department.

Mengqi Li is a Master of Social Work student with a passion for social justice and advocating for the Asian Pacific Islander Desi American (APIDA) community. She was recently accepted into the Council on Social Work Education’s (CSWE) Minority Fellowship Program, with a mission to reduce health disparities for racially and ethnically diverse populations through cultural competency training. Additionally, Li accepted a new position at Mason’s Center for Culture, Equity, and Empowerment (CCEE) as a graduate assistant within the Student Engagement for Racial Justice team.

On October 31, 2020, students from the Department of Health Administration and Policy (HAP) Master of Health Administration (MHA) program participated in a National Case Study Competition hosted by Pennsylvania State University in partnership with Geisinger Health System.