University Operating Status

UPDATE: Select exams scheduled for this afternoon on the College Avenue campus at Rutgers-New Brunswick have been relocated. Please check with your departments and instructors about exam locations. All other exams and activities are taking place as scheduled. ​​​​​​Civic Square remains open. Activities such as the undergraduate poster sessions will be taking place as scheduled.

Student and Alumni Spotlights

Jessica Plaha

Public Health Undergraduate: Jessica Plaha

What Jessica says:

I hope to pursue my MD and become an internal medicine/infectious disease physician. This has been a long-standing dream of mine, but seeing firsthand how much of a tremendous impact this role has on a global health crisis has motivated and excited me even more to be in this field.

Seeing firsthand how much of a tremendous impact this role has on a global health crisis has motivated and excited me even more to be in this field.

Her job:

I am a Unit Clerk at Hackensack Meridian Health at JFK Medical Center to support clinical healthcare providers. I also intern at the Cancer Health Justice Lab at Rutgers School of Public Health in Newark.

Why public health?

I chose public health so I can incorporate principles of epidemiology, disease prevention, community health, and knowledge of health disparities in my anticipated career in medicine.

I am also inspired by my current internship to pursue my MPH. I hope to further my public health background with a focus on urban global health so I can incorporate community health research and work into my medical career.