Wait, there is class on Saturday…?

By: Meghan Herring – Global Epidemiology

Do you want to get the most bang for your buck at Rollins?

Do you want to meet public health practitioners in the Atlanta area?

Do you want to gain additional public health skill or method beyond your semester classes?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, you might be curious to hear about the weekend and school break classes offered at Rollins.  These are in a myriad of subjects from humanitarian emergencies, field epidemiology, community transformations, R boot camp, survey methods, etc. that you can discover in the course catalog.  

Okay so now that you know that these exist let me tell you my experiences with one of them!

I am getting a certificate in humanitarian emergencies with my MPH here at Rollins.  The courses for this certificate are taught by professionals from the CDC Emergency Response and Recovery Branch who respond to emergencies all across the world.  The introductory course is at the end of winter break before the start of the semester and there are many other course offerings this week.

Don’t get me wrong, class from 9-5 for 5 days straight is a lot but I am so glad that I did it.  We had lectures throughout the day that discussed all parts of an emergency response and then the afternoon was spent working through a case study based on a situation faced by the branch.  The best part of the course however were the guests. Our class was made up of half students and half public health professionals who work in emergencies from a wide range of organizations and government agencies like WHO, UNICEF, etc.  They offered such a unique prospective to the class and it was a great way to network with people who work in the field! The course culminated on Friday with a very well done simulation of a refugee camp and mock response to a humanitarian crisis that had been getting worse throughout the week.

Now, I know what many of you are thinking… that sounds kind of interesting but really you want me to take class on Saturday or skip out on spring break!? But these classes are a great way to get a wide breadth of knowledge and skills and are often taught by public health professionals from the area. You also get the same credit for a week long break class as you would for a semester long class. And you aren’t going to take one every break so you will still have time to relax with family and friends! I promise!