Gabriela Illa
Associate
The Pew Charitable Trusts
Milestones
My road in life took a while to figure out.
First I started exploring medicine,
went on a student-led trip to the Dominican Republic and volunteered at an HIV / AIDS health clinic,
I discovered public health,
got a degree in public health,
made friends and colleagues actively involved in the public health field,
with the help of mentors I got a job doing really interesting public health work!
Keep following my journey
Education
High School
Career
Associate
I help conduct and publish public health research.
Career Roadmap
My work combines:
My work combines:
Non-Profit Organizations
Writing
Helping People
Day to Day
A great day at work for me includes connecting with experts or community members and learning about challenges and potential solutions related to big public health issues like access to safe drinking water. I review articles published in health journals and summarize information for reports and presentations. I also help plan meetings designed to share lessons learned in the field by public health practitioners.
Advice for Getting Started
Here's the first step for high school students
Get involved by volunteering at local organizations that have public health at the core of their mission. Doing so will help you connect with professionals providing direct service to the community - those folks can serve as mentors in your professional and educational development.
Recommended Education
My career is related to what I studied. I'd recommend the path I took:
Hurdles
The Noise I Shed
From Society in General:
"You should become a doctor instead because you'll be able to see the result of your work more easily and get paid more than you would in public health. You won't get anything good done because public health is too political."
Challenges I Overcame
Financial
