Featured Alumni: Sarah Spencer, RN, MPH

Sara Spencer is an alum of the 2005 MPH for Health Professionals program.

 
During her first year in the program, Sara took a position in the UCLA OB/GYN clinic assisting with and implementing a resident physician training program in family planning.  This program was new to UCLA and provided new opportunities for residents to learn state of the art family planning while providing new family planning services and access to care for low income women.  She had the opportunity to use her newly acquired MPH skills on a daily basis and she developed many educational materials for both the residents and the patients. 

Sara recently took a position at UCLA in the division of Rheumatology.  She credits the MPH/HP program for helping her obtain the position.   As Clinical Nurse III/Supervisor, not only does she provide patient care and coordination of the department's clinical trials, she has a leadership role in the department.

Outside of her career, after graduation she helped to found a non-profit organization, Grupo Folklorico Macias, a traditional Mexican folkdance company.  Many of the classes in the MPH/HP program gave her the tools to write the federal 501c3 application, which was approved by the IRS.  Sara is currently the secretary of the board of directors, and takes a leadership role in the development and growth of this organization. 
During her time spent in the MPH/HP program, Sara found that she had an understating of many of the concepts that were presented in the classes and they gave her a framework for understanding her experiences and communicating her knowledge with other health professionals. 

When asked what she took away from the program, Sarah recalls, “I gained a great deal of knowledge and skills that weren't always listed in the course description (i.e. computer skills, giving presentations, writing, leadership skills) but have contributed greatly  to both my personal and professional life. As a person who can't easily stop working  (I have 3 children , a house , bills to pay), I never thought I would be able to achieve my goal of returning  to school and earning a MPH.  The MPH/HP format gave me the chance to achieve this goal!”