Hi there! My name is Miranda, and I graduated in the class of 2017. I changed majors a few times before finding Global Disease Biology, and honestly it was one of the best decisions I made at UC Davis. I was fascinated with the material and finally felt confident that I would be set up for success after graduating. The major gave me a deep understanding of the complex connections between human, animal, and environmental health which opened my eyes to the importance of interdisciplinary thinking in real-world issues. 

After graduating, I went on to nursing school and have spent the last six years working as a pediatric nurse in acute, critical, and emergency care settings. For the past three years I have been travel nursing, which has given me the opportunity to work in numerous children’s hospitals across the nation and see first hand how environment, policy, and access impact patient well-being. The foundation I built through Global Disease Biology shaped my approach as a nurse because it gave me a bigger-picture perspective and passion for addressing health disparities wherever I go. Recently, I’ve decided to make a career shift, and I’m excited to start my next chapter as an Organ Recovery Coordinator! Whether I’m at the bedside or behind the scenes, the GDB program gave me the foundation to care deeply about each patient while also understanding the larger systems that shape health and disease.  I’m so grateful for the doors it opened and the perspective it gave me in a field that I care so deeply about.