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Santino Diaz-Palma '22

Graduate student at Emory University's Rollins School of Public Health in Atlanta, Georgia

My favorite building on campus was KHIC (Kolenbrander-Harter Information Center). There are so many places in KHIC where you can study, hang out with friends, or just enjoy a nice cup of coffee and observe our beautiful campus.

Education

B.S. Biochemistry

B.A. Spanish

Hometown

Youngstown, OH

The Mount Union Experience

While a student at Mount, during my senior year I held an internship at the local health department. Mount also allowed me to meet many of my favorite professors and courses. Dr. Risley, for example, was not only a professor, but a mentor to me. She nurtured my passion for infectious diseases through a variety of courses she taught. Some of which were microbiology and immunology, two of my favorite classes.

In addition to my internship at the health department, upon graduation I started a service with AmeriCorps in the summer. Completing this service allowed me to gain even more real-world experience.

Favorite UMU Memory

My favorite parts of Student Life were the memories I made with my friends and family. Through clubs such as HOLA (Hispanic Organization Latin America), organizations like Phi Kappa Tau and Alpha Mu Gamma, and classes like Social Responsibility and experiences like the Wilderness Trip, I was able to meet and interact with so many kind-hearted individuals who offered me a different perspective of the world. In addition, my favorite building on campus was KHIC (Kolenbrander-Harter Information Center). There are so many places in KHIC where you can study, hang out with friends, or just enjoy a nice cup of coffee and observe our beautiful campus.

Life after Mount Union

In the Fall 2023 I will continue my academic career at Emory University's Rollins School of Public Health in Atlanta, Georgia. Specifically, I will be pursuing my Master of Public Health (MPH) candidacy in Global Epidemiology.

This master’s degree will allow me to pursue my ultimate career goal which is to work as an infectious disease epidemiologist and, eventually a virologist for organizations like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO). This specific career would be research based, rather than educational. For reference, think about the main characters of the movies 'Contagion' or 'Outbreak' -- I want to do what these characters do.