Nicholas Mellor

Philosophy Statement
With the current coronavirus pandemic effecting the global population, the need for
increased public health initiatives is apparent. As a public health professional, I believe that I
will best serve my community by educating and improving the overall health of the population.
The serious damage caused by COVID-19 was attributed to the lack of preparedness by the
world’s governments to handle the volume of cases and lack of medical resources. With my
passion for the field of epidemiology, I want to improve the current case investigation and
contact tracing practices deployed in preventing the transmission of communicable diseases.
Improvement of these practices will help prepare public health professionals to better serve their
community for any future pandemics. My call to serve my community as a future public health
professional originates from my epidemiology professor at University of North Florida, Dr.
Stalling-Smith. At the time I was enrolled in this course, I was in a crossroads of what I wanted
to do since I had to switch from an exercise science major to a public health major. Her
dedication to serve others and her experiences in the field that she shared in class shaped my
passion for epidemiology.
Public health is a subsection of the health science field that many people do not know
much about. Public health focuses on disease prevention and improving quality of life in the
population. With rising concerns for communicable and chronic diseases, the population needs to
be proactive instead of reactive in maintaining their health. As a future public health professional
its my duty to ensure that my community as the knowledge and resources necessary to prevent
the onset of disease or chronic condition. I believe education is foundational right for all people
and necessary in understanding how to protect your health. I believe that further resources are
needed to educate both children and adults on developing and maintaining healthy behaviors.
Advocacy is one of the eight competencies of the Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES)
certification that I believe public health professionals need to be more proactive in. With the
current state of health in our country, health care policy reform is needed. We need to petition to
our lawmakers to make preventative health a priority and allocate funds to begin the process.
New initiatives can be created and implemented to help educate the population to focus on
preventative health.
After I graduate with my Bachelor’s of Science in Health with a concentration in Public
Health and a minor in Health Education from the University of North Florida, I plan to further
my educational aspiration applying for master’s degree program in epidemiology. Additionally,
receiving my CHES certification will be a top priority following graduation. With my current
volunteer opportunity as a COVID-19 case investigator at the Florida Department of Health, I
hope that my dedication will translate into a full-time position. My long-term aspiration is to
become an epidemiologist and prioritizing preventative health in my community. My service will
benefit’s my community because I want to ensure the population stays safe and healthy.
Preventative health will be the key to my service, and I will stress the importance of having
healthy behaviors. The COVID-19 pandemic has given us a wakeup call and resources are
needed to prepare for any potential future pandemics. Reviews of current procedures are needed
to ensure that public health professionals can effectively stop future transmissions of
communicable diseases. I hope that my service in the public health field can provide necessary
education to my community in protecting against disease.