MeTa Series

“Meet and Talk”

MeTa 10

MeTa 10 will be held on March 9, 2023. Poster presentations begin at 4 p.m., with panel discussions beginning at 4:30.
Additional details will be posted later this semester.

Held each fall and spring semester, the MeTA Series brings students, faculty, staff and alumni together. The “Meet and Talk” social mixer includes networking with public health leaders, breakout sessions, fun activities, raffles and prizes.

MeTa Series 9, Fall 2022

VIEW PANELISTS, IMAGES & VIDEOS

GETTING JOB READY POST PANDEMIC

Sahil Jiwani is currently a consultant in the public health sector at Guidehouse, where he performs strategy and operational effectiveness work for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Prior to joining Guidehouse, he held numerous internships and student positions focused on data analysis and research. He graduated from Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health with an MPH in epidemiology. He earned his bachelor’s degree in public health from the University of Texas at Austin. He was born and raised in California but currently resides in Atlanta. Outside of work, he enjoys hiking and running, exploring coffee shops around the city, and watching football.

Cristy T. Jones is a second Year Ph.D. student studying educational administration and policy at the Mary Frances Early College of Education at the University of Georgia. As a K-12 education policy researcher, Cristy’s primary research interests are the impact of equity and inclusion programming on retention and recruitment, the professional development and adult learning of district administrators and school board members, and how the adult learning of school personnel impacts student growth outcomes in urban school districts. She is also the Founder and Principal Consultant of CTJ Equity Solutions, a consulting firm in South Fulton, Georgia that provides career coaching, grant writing, non-profit management consulting, and small business development consulting. Cristy’s long-term career aspiration is to become a college president. Originally a native of South Fulton, she received her Bachelor of Arts in international studies from Spelman College in 2017 and a Master of Public Administration with a Non-Profit Management Certification from Cleveland State University in 2020.

GRAD SHOOL 101: WHAT TO CONSIDER

Angelique Willis an M.P.H. student with a concentration in environmental health at Georgia State University. She received a Bachelor of Science in Public Health from Georgia State in 2020. She is interested in preventing human injury and illness and promoting well-being by identifying and evaluating environmental sources and hazardous agents in the environment that may adversely affect human health. She was awarded the 2022 GSU School of Public Health M.P.H. Achievement Award.

Erin McDonald is a Technical Analyst and a U.S. Air Force Veteran. She is an undergraduate student at the GSU School of Public Health. Erin has experience working in the fast-food industry, the military, retail, early childhood development and in the healthcare system as a Labor and Delivery Registrar. The skills Erin has gained along the way have equipped her to contribute to the public health world. Erin’s passions are education, planting, music, beauty and wellness.

MATERNAL & CHILD HEALTH

Dr. Carmen McGee, a board-certified obstetrician and gynecologist who is passionate about women’s health. She first fell in love with obstetrics during her first delivery and gained equal affection for gynecology throughout her surgical training. Dr. McGee ensures each woman she treats receives personalized attention and feels well educated about her unique conditions and treatment options. Her past experience includes serving on the Medical Executive Committee as OB Department Chair. Dr. McGee has been voted CREOG Teaching Attending of the Year in 2005 for an obstetrics and gynecology residency. She often provides the OB lectures for the Gwinnett County Fire Department and EMS students/trainees. In addition, she is often asked to speak nationally and locally at various women’s retreats and conferences. In her personal time, Dr. McGee can be found with her son, riding bikes in the park, choreographing a new dance routine, catching a movie or attending a sporting event. She also enjoys exploring museums, shopping and entertaining friends and family at her home.

View The MeTa 9 Flickr Gallery

Background and History of the MeTa Series

Elizabeth Armstrong-Mensah, Founder and Chair of MeTa Series

The MeTa Series was launched in 2018 by Dr. Elizabeth Armstrong-Mensah, Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Health Policy and Behavioral Science, in response to former dean Dr. Michael Eriksen’s desire for the creation of an environment within the School of Public Health where students and faculty can interact outside the classroom. The MeTa (Meet and Talk) Series is a social mixer that brings students, faculty, staff, and alums together every semester in a social forum to get to know one another and to network. MeTa Series activities include fun ice-breaker games, team events, breakout sessions with leaders from the public health community, raffles, prizes, and refreshments. Dr. Armstrong-Mensah is assisted by a committee of students, faculty, and staff to plan a MeTa Series event every semester.

MeTa Series is backed by research conducted on the effect of student-faculty interaction on the college experience, which shows a positive influence of faculty on the cognitive development of students and on student overall satisfaction with their college experience (Kuh & Hu, 2001; Astin, 1993; and Pascarella & Terenzini, 2005). Additionally, the researchers found that interactions that were characterized as friendly had the most significant impact on student outcomes. They also found that the frequency of friendly student-faculty interaction positively affected overall satisfaction with students’ college experience. The outcomes that were most affected were intellectual outcomes, as opposed to personal/social outcomes (Endo & Harpel, 1981).

MeTa Series Goals and Objectives:

To create an informal academic platform, environment, and forum for students and faculty to interact
To facilitate and boost student-faculty connectedness and, in the process, create a sense of community
To positively influence student cognitive development
To enhance student satisfaction with their college experience
To create an environment that enables students to get to know faculty in the School of Public Health beside those who teach them and vice versa
To encourage student-faculty discourse outside the curriculum, but on topics relevant to public health
To create a pathway for students to obtain first-hand information from faculty on career paths, options, and opportunities
To create a pathway for students to obtain mentorship and information from faculty on campus opportunities to augment their formal course of study and future careers
To allow students to identify and talk with faculty whose field of concentration they are interested in outside of class
To allow students to obtain diverse information on several issues from faculty in one place and within a short span of time
To allow students to establish links with faculty for potential present/ future collaboration in research or academic activities