April Alumni Spotlight: Olivia Hunziker

Hello everyone! My name is Olivia (she/her/hers), I graduated in 2018 with a B.S. in Global Disease Biology and a B.A. in Art History. I was fortunate enough to be at UC Davis when the GDB major was first introduced, and it has made a significant impact on my life and career.  It was here that I first learned about One Health, and became interested in the connection between human, animal and environmental health. There are many skills I gained from various GDB courses, especially collaboration via group projects. The ability to learn from peers has been important beyond undergrad, and into my current job.

 After graduating, I joined the Peace Corps in March of 2019, and worked as a Community Health Volunteer in rural Paraguay, where my time was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic. I moved out to Arizona, and worked in a clinical lab, specifically focusing on reportable conditions. I currently work for the Maricopa County Department of Public Health, working with healthcare-associated infections and antimicrobial-resistant organisms. My daily work connects directly back to PLP 130 (highly recommend), which highlighted the growing challenges of fungal infections in healthcare. I am in the final stage of my MPH program in Global Health at University of Arizona, and look forward to continuing on in communicable diseases.

A huge thank you to all the Global Disease Biology faculty and staff-I look fondly on my time in the program, and have such gratitude for all those who work hard to make this program so great! Feel free to reach out at [email protected] if you have any questions.