GEORGIA
PHILLIPS
PUBLIC HEALTH -
GLOBAL HEALTH
STUDENT
About Me
Hello! My name is Georgia Phillips and I will be graduating from the University of Washington in June 2020 with a Bachelors of Arts in Public Health- Global Health.
Core Values
Equity
Equity, to me, means giving back to those who have been systemically debarred and working towards justice for all persons. Much of my work in public health is centered around equity and addressing health disparities in our communities. I firmly believe there is no excuse to not incorporate values around equity into your work, no matter the sector (business, computer science, politics etc.).
Fortitude
Fortitude involves being brave and persevering through hardships and pain. This is a value I find applicable to not only strong work ethic, but also incredibly relevant in personal life. Life is full of adversities and gathering the strength it takes to carry on is underestimated. I admire the courage it takes to work through pain, then make something productive out of it.
Passion
Passion is a burning interest and desire for something. Passion is one element I believe is necessary for innovation and exploration. The career interests I pursue are heavily influenced by moments of passion which spark an interest in my mind and sways me to explore more without prompting. Passion is also an important component in contributing to your personal satisfaction and purpose.
Dependability
Dependability is a display of trust and reliability. This is a value I feel I have demonstrated the most in my past work experiences. Comments from previous employers on my thoroughness, trustworthiness, and diligence are comments I feel incredibly proud of and value deeply.
Empathy
Empathy is the ability to connect with others on an emotional and mindful level. Empathy is key in maintaining supportive relationships with coworkers, clients, community members, and in your personal life. Empathy creates a constructive environment which is necessary for a productive workplace. In many of my jobs, I interact with people who are experiencing hardships and need to be treated with kindness and sympathy. While you may be unable to solve all of someone's problems, you can be there to listen and be compassionate
Leadership Identites
Harm Reduction Advocate
Harm reduction has been the focus of my senior year education and volunteer work via the Robert Clewis Center Needle Exchange Clinic. Working in harm reduction has struck a passion inside me like none of the other work I've done before and I find lots of my personal time dedicated to the topic. I have become an advocate for harm reduction within my personal life, carrying naloxone with me and bringing home fentanyl test strips for my friends.
Confidant to All
The most important role in public health, in my opinion, is as a confidant. Working with vulnerable populations and creating relationships is more than just being a friendly person, it is also requires knowing how to handle sensitive information. Courses such as EPI 360: History of the HIV/AIDS Pandemic have prepared me to acknowledge such information and my work at an HIV clinic, the National Alliance on Mental Illness and the needle exchange have given me a space to demonstrate and observe why this is such an essential concept in leadership.
Application Focused Learner
I find that my best growth has been in courses which focus on application of material over memorization. One such example was in SPH 480: Research Methods in Public Health. Focusing on the creation of a tangible public health product contributed substantially to my confidence in course objectives and professional abilities.
Supporter of One Health
One Health is a transdisciplinary approach to optimizing health outcomes which recognizes the intersection between people, animals, plants, and their shared environment. I became aware of the concept while studying community and environment health in Iquitos, Peru. Human health and the health of our environment are intertwined and have serious influential power on each other. To promote human health, environmental health should also be at the focus of health-related work.
Why do I do What I do?
The answer to this question is becoming increasingly complex as I get more involved in public health work and I'm still discovering the answer to that question myself. I find incredible value in compassion and human life. Just because someone has done something to harm themselves does not mean they deserve to be isolated and ignored. I also recognize these issues are driven by large scale institutional inequities such as the prison industrial complex and believe it is my societal obligation to do my part in deconstructing those inequities.
Future in Leadership
My engagement in leadership will continue far into the future. I hope to exude leadership qualities not just in the realm of academia and career, but throughout personal interactions. By reflecting on leadership qualities I've begun to understand certain niches of leadership and begun to understand the connection of qualities I never once saw as directly related to leadership. For example, I've never seen a focus on equity as a leadership quality and I hope to explore these qualities more in my future work.