I became very sure of my quest to become a public health professional during my National youth service Corps (NYSC) year in my home country Nigeria. I had the opportunity of working as a medical officer in the very remote village healthcare setting. During my service year with the NYSC, I discovered that minor ailments, usually from infections, and some with fatal consequences, could have been prevented and many lives saved if it were not for the fact that those effected believed that the illnesses were evil spiritual afflictions or resulted from a curse by God. I was especially struck by the sight of a young child at the Children's emmergency ward with severe heel burns resulting from the superstitious belief that febrile convulsion was caused …show more content…
I strongly believe I am an excellent candidate for your program because I am focused, hard-working and passionate about offering help to communities. I also have good insight into the economic and infrastructural processes required to accomplish sustainable change in preventive medicine and generally in the healthcare sector of my country. Born and raised in rural southern Nigeria, I have traveled through various regions and even more frequently in the last three years, and am aware of the core health and economic challenges facing my country. A post-graduate training in public health will enable me to demonstrate wide competency in the field of public health, allow me to be effective as a credible voice for positive change to existing health programs and also provide a fine theoretical background to maximize the practical basis upon which I have practiced as a full time healthcare professional for the past two years and volunteered at various medical missions since my undergraduate years. This program will also allow me to relate to professionals who share my goals at both colleague and Faculty