
Gabriela Illa
Associate
The Pew Charitable Trusts
The Pew Charitable Trusts
Associate
I help conduct and publish public health research.
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.
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.
"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."