Molly Moran

Public Health Graduate Student

Last week I sat down with Molly Moran, a senior majoring in cell and molecular biology. Starting in the FRI program, Molly found that she had an affinity for research “I liked the process of asking questions no one has the answer to… finding answers or finding more questions, and so I wound up staying on after FRI ended. I was doing human genetics research and anthropology while also joining an ecological genetics lab under Doctor Jay Sobel.”

Her research with Dr. Sobel first brought Molly into the External Scholarships and Undergraduate Research Center when she came to apply for the Undergraduate Research Award (URA). Molly recalls that while in the office, she met with one of the advisors who told her she would be a great candidate for other scholarships. “Lisa really followed up on that in the fall of my junior year and she kind of started talking about grad school before anyone else... and so I think this office really made it seem like something I could do.”

Over her first summer, Molly found her love for public health through her internship with “an organization called Save The Children which is an NGO that does programming to help with relief and development all around the world. I really liked the idea of using research and using statistics and data to help people be healthier, and help make the world a healthier place.”

When she began thinking about a potential future in public health, Molly was met with a discouraging response. “I was actually told that I wasn’t a particularly good candidate for public health programs because I don’t have any experience.” Many graduate programs required two or more years of work experience for the application. Despite this disheartening prognosis, Molly pursued public health programs, applying to ten different schools. “The application process for that is a slog as I’m sure all graduate school applications are [but] I had… so much help from Lisa [with] writing my personal statement. [She] has read hundreds of pages of my writing [with me saying] “I don’t know if I like it” and her saying, “It’s fine, it’s good, turn it in!””

Out of the ten schools to which Molly applied, she has been accepted to eight and is waiting to hear back from the last two. “It doesn’t really matter if I get into the other two, though, I know where I’m going… I’ve just accepted an offer at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, which is grossly exciting. It’s a fantastic program, very quantitative [and] statistical-heavy, with a global focus. They have health centers all around the world - they’re currently at the forefront of the coronavirus...pandemic.”

As one of only two programs abroad, the decision to attend LSHTM wasn’t easy. Molly says she finally made up her mind after a phone call with her aunt. “She [told me I] just have to decide: is the risk of moving half-way around the world to a city where I don’t know anyone going to be what stops me from doing something that I’ve always wanted to do? And no. It’s not. I’m going to do it. It’s terrifying but it’s also awesome. I’m never going to have this opportunity to just pick up everything and leave the country, probably ever again, and I’m going to run with it.”

It’s been an awesome couple months of hearing back from all these schools and realizing that they think what I’ve done here is worth something, and worth offering me the opportunity to do more.

Written by Adelaide Cagle
Edited by Lisa Theo

Published March. 26th, 2020