Final Blog!

Course Highlights

This was a great semester! Epidemiology and environmental health have been two of my favorite classes in the program and I appreciate the in-depth analysis the we were able to conduct with each module. Module 2: Toxicology, Module 6: Agriculture and Food, Module 8: Persistent Chemicals, and Module 14: Disaster Prep were some of my favorite in the course.

I've always been interested in a career in toxicology, so module two was a great reminder of my passion for the topic. My current career is in the Agriculture and Food industry, so I greatly appreciated making the connection between my daily job and it's impact on our environment and vice versa. Although not new, I always find it quite interesting to learn about pesticide use in our foods and the lack of transparency in the industry. Persistent Chemicals were also extremely interesting. I hadn't learned about POPs before, so this was a great introduction. I also appreciate knowing the difference between biomagnification and bioaccumulation and being able to identify how these can be harmful to the environment and individuals. My lit review and final presentation were on DDT, so this module helped me better understand the dangers of DDT as a POP. Lastly, disaster prep has always been of interest to me. The organization I work for is actively finding innovative ways to improve our disaster prep response, especially because of the need to be open during or after a disaster. This particular module helped me think through some strategies I can share at work while also considering the importance of personal disaster prep at home. Lastly, although we did not focus on it as much as I would have hoped to, Silent Spring was a great read with in-depth information about chemical exposures, particularly DDT. I would suggest keeping this as a required reading for future classes.

Group Work 

I want to thank a moment to thank my group for taking the time to write thoughtful blogs and responses throughout the semester. I appreciate having had the opportunity to have a group to connect with, especially considering this is an online course with limited in-person interaction. I had the opportunity to read blogs and engage with my peers, asking them questions and opinions based on their submissions. Great work! I also want to apologize for not being able to complete some of my blogs mid-semester. I had to travel out of the country on emergency and was not able to catch up when I returned. However, I appreciate being able to respond to all of your blogs on those weeks. Thanks for your patience and understanding.

Thank you for a great semester and congrats on completing it!

Best,
Nalleli