8 Walker Students Complete Internships with the CDC

Eight students from The Walker School recently concluded a four-week internship at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta as a component of Walker’s Public Health Concentration Program.

Students start by taking an epidemiology course in the spring of their junior year, focusing on developing a foundation of knowledge of public health and internship preparation.

During their internship, students engage directly with CDC mentors to gain hands-on experience. The students conduct research and perform tasks that directly contribute to their department’s projects. This year, students contributed to projects such as creating a STEM curriculum for students in 3rd-5th grade, compiling databases for the Division of Oral Health and creating and analyzing resources for use in the Computer-Aided Diagnosis of Tuberculosis. Students conclude the program with a presentation of their work to CDC staff, mentors and families.

Following their internship, students will complete the Guided Scientific Research course in the fall of their senior year at Walker. Their work focuses on a public health-related topic and will be submitted for publication or competition at the end of the semester as a capstone to their concentration experience.

Walker’s partnership with the CDC has proven to help the participating students pursue a career in public health by gaining applicable experience in the field. Many students say they hope to continue the work they started during these four weeks in their upcoming semester of research or their future career paths.

Congratulations to Cara Cone, Maya Gordon, Anjali Jaglan, Ethan Martin, Maya Patel, Rohan Piplani, Shiva Sajja and Sofia Tejedor on the successful completion of their internship.