Hello! My name is Mariah (she/her) and I graduated from the Global Disease Biology major with a minor in Spanish in the spring of 2021. While at UC Davis, I was the partner coordinator for the Fresh Focus food access program at the Student Farm, student representative on the UCD Basic Needs Committee, volunteered with the student-run Joan Viteri Memorial Clinic, and worked as a research assistant on a community-based needs assessment for the Sacramento County Food Bank and Family Services and their partner organizations. I am incredibly grateful for the GDB core curriculum and the practicum requirement which prepared and encouraged me to explore research on a deeper level. My practicum was one of the most meaningful parts of my college experience and focused on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on emergency food resources across Sacramento County.

Since graduating, I have worked for Kaiser Permanente’s Division of Research on large-scale research studies related to maternal mental health. The GDB major developed my creative and critical thinking skills and provided me with a strong multidisciplinary foundation for a career working across the field of public health. This fall, I will begin a Master of Public Health in Environmental Health Sciences at the University of Washington where I intend to return to researching the resilience and sustainability of our local food systems. Please feel free to reach out (mariahvrubin@gmail.com) if you have any questions about my experience at UC Davis, Kaiser Permanente’s Division of Research, applying to MPH programs, or anything else!