Grads Take the Stage as ‘Architects of a Brighter, Healthier Future’.
Photo: Megan Jones
Grads Take the Stage as ‘Architects of a Brighter, Healthier Future’
At the 2024 SPH Convocation, Massachusetts Health Secretary Kate Walsh encouraged graduates to ask challenging questions, never stop learning, and be unwavering in their commitment to health equity.
On Saturday, May 18, the School of Public Health community, families, and friends gathered at the Boston University Track & Tennis Center to celebrate the achievements of 385 members of the newest generation of public health leaders at the 2024 SPH Convocation.
As the world continues to navigate persistent health challenges, the graduates’ innovation, energy, and dedication are much-needed within and beyond the field.
Convocation keynote speaker Kate Walsh encouraged graduates to center health equity into all of their work as they embark on the next chapter of their public health journey.
“Our world has never needed your rigor, context, and public health expertise more,” said the secretary of Health and Human Services for Massachusetts and former president and chief executive officer of Boston Medical Center.
“You know that you need to look at everything you do—every outcome you work to achieve—through the lens of racial health equity,” Walsh said. “And you know that you have to be an even more effective advocate in a world where I fear that communication has become more difficult than ever.
“I know you can do this.”
Eliminating health disparities and achieving racial health equity are goals that Walsh herself has prioritized as a veteran hospital administrator and health system executive. As head of HHS, she leads more than 21,000 staff members across 11 agencies and the MassHealth system, who provide services and programs to nearly one in every three Massachusetts residents. As head of BMC, Walsh oversaw New England’s largest safety net hospital for nearly 10 years, following two decades of roles at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Massachusetts General Hospital, and several health systems in New York City.
It was during her early work at New York’s Montifiore Hospital in 1979 where Walsh says she realized her work in healthcare and passion for the field were not enough to treat the complex issues that patients were experiencing in the emergency department.
“When I think back on those days, I often joke that everything I know about healthcare I learned in the Montefiore emergency room,” Walsh said. “But what I remember most is the very strong sense that whatever we did, it was simply not enough. So many factors were out of the patient’s and our hospital’s control—food insecurity, unstable housing, environmental hazards—and we were left to pick up the pieces. It is where I internalized the fundamental truth of what we now call social determinants.”
I can say with certainty that you will never stop advocating.
Fondly noting SPH alums’ “stronghold” on state government in Massachusetts, Walsh said she has no doubt the newest cohort of public health leaders will cement their influence in public policy.
“I’ve gotten to know a great many BUSPH grad over the years, so I can say with certainty that you will never stop advocating, and I hope you will also never, ever stop growing and learning,” Walsh said. “As you leave this campus and step out into the world as public health leaders, I challenge you to be better than me, to be unwavering in your commitment to equity…and to never shy away from the difficult conversations or the uphill battles. The legacy of BUSPH is one of dedicated public health leaders and health equity champions. Now, it is your turn to contribute to that story.”
From the existential threats of climate change, social inequities, persistent chronic and infectious disease spread, and health policy driven by a hyper-partisan nation, “public health is not for the faint of heart,” said student speaker Danielle Chaplick. She urged her fellow classmates to not lose sight of their goals when faced with inevitable obstacles. “Know that there is always another route to get to where you need to be that may not be apparent in the moment. This does not mean you have failed. Life is not an event; it is a process.”
Chaplick, a part-time MPH student who studied health communication and promotion, encountered several obstacles of her own as she juggled serious health issues while balancing a full-time job with her academic studies.
While pursuing her MPH degree, she explored her passion for children’s health, working with the Massachusetts Health Council for her practicum and Integrated Learning Experience on the health impacts of youth vaping and gambling. In professional roles, she served as a vice president at a large insurance brokerage firm, as well as in roles focusing on expanding benefits programs for public sector employees.
“From my experience I have learned that there isn’t one definition of what it means to change healthcare. It has and will continue to require looking at the problems from every angle—both upright and upside down,” Chaplick said. We all have one thing in common, she says, which is that “ultimately, we are the patient. I can’t think of a better way to turn healthcare upside down then to remember this on our own journeys ahead.”
After Lisa Sullivan, associate dean for education, presented each student with their degree, alumni speaker Usman Iqbal (SPH’03), chief medical officer for Julz Pharma, addressed the audience, encouraging graduates to stay engaged with the school, and to be strategic and pragmatic in their networking and career development.
“With technology fast shaping the health world, please invest your efforts in accentuating your digital brand—a brand that demonstrates your ideology, competencies, and ability to drive solution-oriented strategies in public health,” said Iqbal, who has worked for several of the world’s large pharmaceutical companies in research and development, global medical affairs, and improvements to access to drug therapies for neuroscience, oncology, autoimmune diseases, and rare disorders.
He also emphasized the importance of a patient-centered approach. “Whether it’s health policy, health services research, biostatistics, environmental health—whatever field you are in there are patient needs, patient values, and patient preferences at the core of every decision” of public health, Iqbal said. “Focus on those, and you will see exemplary results in real time, I promise.”
Yvette Cozier, associate dean for diversity, equity, inclusion & justice, presided over the ceremony in place of Dean Sandro Galea, who was unable to attend because his son’s college graduation ceremony took place on the same day.
“I’m with you in mind, I’m with you in spirit,” Dean Galea said in prerecorded remarks. “I am delighted that the world’s health is in your hands going forward. I, for one, will sleep better knowing that the world is a healthier place because of your work.”
Craig Andrade, associate dean for practice, concluded the event with a nod to sentiments in the book A Path with Heart, in which author Jack Kornfield writes: “In the end these questions matter most, “Did I love well?” “Did I live fully?” “Did I learn to let go?”
“I encourage you from this day forward to practice the art and science of public health with your head and heart in equal measure,” Andrade said. “The world needs all of who you are—more than ever before.”