Holly Tan

Hi! My name is Holly Tan and I’m a first year MPH student in the Community Health Sciences department at UCLA’s Fielding School of Public Health. I’ve had a great first quarter at UCLA exploring areas of LA and meeting new people. My favorite part of being at FSPH is being surrounded by peers who are equally passionate about addressing public health issues that affect our communities.

Two years ago, running a half-marathon was a huge goal of mine and I conquered that goal in December 2017. I’m so thankful for my friends who not only supported this goal, but also ran with me! I've now completed two half-marathons and I’m excited to run the charity half-marathon at the LA marathon with my FSPH peers!

I am running in the LA half-marathon with the FSPH team to raise money for fellowships for our summer fieldwork. These fellowships will give the students at FSPH the opportunity to do meaningful work without the additional financial burden. It will give us the opportunity to work locally and globally, create research, promote health interventions, and work toward improving our health systems. It will also give us the opportunity to learn in the private sector, for governmental agencies, and for NGOs. Your financial support will not only promotes our learning during our internships, but it also go towards making a difference in the health of our communities.

I love public health because the field is so multifaceted with my interests spanning reproductive health, minority health, health education, and health communication. With all the different areas of health, there is no shortage of things that we as public health professionals can do to help improve the lives of others. With that being said, the issues that we try to address in public health are also diverse and layered, making it difficult to truly tackle the roots of those problems. Sometimes it can feel as though public health problems are insurmountable, but I try to redirect those thoughts into concrete actions that I can work toward to make a change. And through my time here at UCLA, I hope that my peers and I are able to gain the skills, knowledge, and resources to learn how to work towards solutions to these issues.

Thank you for taking the time to read about our efforts to make a difference in public health. I’m grateful for your support in our journeys. If you would like any more information about FSPH or our summer fieldwork, please don’t hesitate to email me at hollytan@g.ucla.edu. Thanks again, and please check back in for running and fundraising updates!

-Holly