By Katherine Springer, MPH’23 in Environmental Health-Epidemiology
One of my favorite things about being a Rollins student is that every day is different, so your “days in the life” will not look the same. With that being said, here is what a great day can look like as a Rollins Student!
In the morning, I wake up around 7:00 am, contemplate if I actually want to get out of my warm bed, then slowly roll out to make myself breakfast and a cup of coffee. I always try to eat something when I wake up because breakfast is the most important meal of the day! It’s hard to learn when you’re hungry. After I feel a little more awake, I get changed and head to the gym. I appreciated my beautiful sunrise view in my apartment complex as seen here, and went back to get dressed for class!
After taking the bus to campus, I have class. On Thursdays, my morning class is EH 570: Environmental Health Law and Policy! The topic was cost effectiveness and cost-benefit analysis in environmental policy. Class ended, and I went to RRR to get tea from Dancing Goats and get some work time on my research project. I’m fortunate enough to have a paid research position with my faculty advisor (shoutout Dr. Stephanie Eick), so I get to be involved with a project I am passionate about and also get paid! My job is to analyze the demographics and stress levels of two different cohorts of pregnant people to see if they can be compared, which hopefully will then be related to per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) exposures. I only got about 45 minutes of work in before it was time to head to my next class, but I also got to chat with my classmates that were passing through the RRR study area!
Next came my EPI 540 lab, where we discussed some new models we are learning in class. Usually I also have Biostatistics immediately following, but today the class was asynchronous! In lieu of class, I returned to RRR to hang out with some of my friends until we went to the Law School. The Emory Graduate Student Government Association put on a happy hour for all graduate students, so it was an amazing opportunity to get to know other students from different departments!
The day was almost over, but not done yet. One of my classmates asked for my help to go pick up a foster dog at the DeKalb County Animal Shelter, and how could I say no to that? We drove up to a line out the door at the shelter, which is begging for adoptions and fosters since they are 150 dogs over capacity. We ended up spending two hours visiting with all the adoptable dogs! By the time we left, we both were hungry so we stopped at Pho 24 on Buford Highway for some DELICIOUS soup. Definitely recommend!
My night ended by getting ready for bed, filling out my daily gratitude journal, and watching some TikToks before getting under my covers and hitting the hay, ready for the next great day as a Rollins student!
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