We are delighted one of our Public Health and Health Promotion graduates, Rawan Taha, who graduated in 2018, is now working with United Nations World Food Programme in Namibia.
While working with UNDP, Rawan works on the humanitarian response plan to provide mechanisms for early recovery and resilience to help protect the lives and livelihoods of Zambians in the light of the climatic change, leading to erratic rain causing droughts in various parts of the country and the Southern African region.
Rawan tells us all about her Swansea University experience below.
As a young scholarly African woman, I was looking for a university that provided opportunities for young leaders like myself. After applying for the Eira Francis Davies Scholarship for African women in Health Sciences and being selected, I decided to study at Swansea.
"What I liked most about my course was the freedom to write my assignments on topics that I chose..."
What I liked most about my course was the freedom to write my assignments on topics that I chose, and to develop my own curriculums, my own reading lists, and my own interests led to me graduate with a vast knowledge on a wide subject range and to explore fields that ventured beyond the realm of public health. This has contributed to my holistic understanding of health systems through integrating social and medical perspectives.
I was the Public Health subject representative of my cohort. I was also a member of the Friends of MSF (Medicines Sans Frontiers) society. Through my academic year, I had multiple jobs on campus. I worked with Discovery Student Volunteering Services during the summer as an Assistant to Volunteers with Special Needs.
I also worked as the Research Intern at Centre for Global Burn Injury Policy and Research under the supervision of Professor Tom Potokar. I further had two placements one with Public Health Wales, and another with the World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Centre for Chemicals in Cardiff. These opportunities have contributed to my academic and career development even beyond my coursework and lectures.
"...use university time to become beyond your degree, beyond your thesis and beyond your transcripts."
My advice to current students is to use university time to become beyond your degree, beyond your thesis and beyond your transcripts. Only then will you be able to get a job and live a life that is beyond your expectations.
