Written by Regina Ender
Hannah Chandler has always felt called to address healthcare disparities for those in developing countries. After earning her bachelor’s degree in biology from APU in 2015, she heeded the advice of her professors and started working in the public health field before continuing her education. Now ready for the next step, she is working toward earning a master’s degree in public health from Columbia University so she can start a career providing care for populations made vulnerable by conflict and disasters across the world.
Chandler spent a year with the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security working in disaster preparedness and health sector resilience. While at the Center, she took part in valuable studies, including “Lessons from the domestic Ebola response: Improving health care system resilience to high consequence infectious diseases" and “How to Steward Medical Countermeasures and Public Trust in an Emergency.” With her experience at John Hopkins at the forefront of her mind, she headed to New York to study in Columbia’s Heilbrunn Department of Population and Family Health at the Mailman School of Public Health, where she will also attain her certificate in Public Health and Humanitarian Assistance. While pursuing her master’s, she participated in a qualitative study in Amman, Jordan that looked at the impact of family separation on Syrian refugees. Outside of school, she dedicates her time to working with the Access Campaign at Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), also known as Doctors Without Borders. Within MSF’s Access Campaign, Chandler works to make vaccines more accessible and affordable for those in need. She hopes to continue similar work after graduating.
Chandler attributes much of her strong educational and spiritual foundation to her time at APU. She gained meaningful insight, advice, and understanding about the public health field from faculty mentors, which better equipped her to help solve worldwide health concerns. Taking microbiology with Dr. Scott Kinnes and parasitology with Dr. Jon Mihon were some of her most impactful courses. She became interested in improving health outcomes for people before their medical problems became severe and they were forced to go to a hospital or clinic. In addition to the connections she made with professors in the classroom, she had valuable time with them outside as well, and looks back to her favorite APU moments as times where she was mentored by professors. Beside the educational growth APU facilitated, it also gave her the space to grow spiritually. She is now able to better articulate her beliefs and use her relationship with Christ to face challenges in public health with faith. Her passion for faith-based community has also carried onto her life in New York, where she has found a group of people at church, some of whom are fellow APU alumni and are also invested in health and the sciences.
Words of Wisdom: “Network! Initiate conversations, keep up with people, and utilize connections. Take advantage of the fabulous faculty at APU who are there to support you. I got my first job through an informational call with a perfect stranger, which played a big role in my path to grad school and the rest of my career. It’s intimidating to reach out, particularly as a student, but you don’t lose anything from trying!”
