Spring 2021 MCAH Student Profiles

April 14, 2021

Mo Xu

Mo Xu 

Degree program:  2-year MPH ('22 expected)

Pronouns: she, her, hers

Hometown: Davis, California

Why did you choose to study MCAH at UC Berkeley? 

I decided to pursue an MPH in MCAH after working with underserved children and families during my year of Americorps. I was forced to confront social, economic, and environmental factors as key determinants of health and wellbeing for these families and I wanted to gain the skills needed to make a positive impact on these determinants in the future. I chose Berkeley SPH because of the diverse student body and the opportunities to network with various organizations in the Bay Area. 

Tell us about your upcoming summer 2021 internship. 

I will be interning with the UCSF Center for Vulnerable Populations and helping with implementation and evaluation for their Veggies 4 Vouchers program.

I'm really excited to provide support for the program's collaboration with WIC and also potentially help implement a pilot rural voucher program. I hope to gain practical public health research and data analysis skills as well as increase my knowledge surrounding nutrition during pregnancy.


Noel Leon

Noel Leon 

Degree program: 3-year MPH/MSW concurrent degree ('23 expected)

Pronouns:  any

Hometown: I grew up in the border cities of Mexicali, Mexico and El Centro, California. 

Why did you choose to study MCAH at UC Berkeley? 

In 2018, I graduated from UC Berkeley with a double major in sociology and social welfare. Afterwards, I began working for a queer and transgender clinic in San Francisco. I chose Berkeley for my MPH/MSW because I enjoyed my time in the Bay Area and knew Berkeley to have a stellar program. 

Tell us about your summer 2021 internship. 

This summer I will be interning with Hesperian Health Guides in Berkeley, CA as their Reproductive Health App Intern. I'm excited to work with Spanish-speaking focus groups and look forward to working with diverse communities. 


 Lauren Dinsmore

Lauren Dinsmore

Degree program: 2-year MPH ('22 expected)

Pronouns: she/her

Hometown: Wewoka, Oklahoma

Why did you choose to study MCAH at UC Berkeley? 

Early in my public health journey, I worked in a rural medical clinic, and I used that experience in thinking about how rural families receive care. Later on, I worked with children and teens through sexual health education and playground accessibility research experiences. 

Before coming to Berkeley, I worked in international education for six years, where I drew connections between the goals of an education abroad program and learning outcomes for students. These experiences solidified the importance of impactful educational and intervention experiences for young people, and led me to my interest in public health. Through research and evaluation, my goal is to promote health justice and equity for rural families, birthing people, and children throughout the lifecourse. 

Tell us about your summer 2021 internship. 

I have been placed with the Kentucky Office for Children with Special Health Needs (OCSHN) through the Title V Training Program. As an intern, I will conduct a program evaluation of rural telehealth services during the COVID-19 pandemic. The rural telemedicine services offered by OCSHN assists rural Kentuckians who have limited internet connection to receive free satellite internet and telemedicine services. Through surveys and focus groups, the Kentucky team has asked me to advocate for changes to the design of the telemedicine program and provide evaluation to advocate for future funding of the program. 

 My future goals are to work with rural families in a capacity that centers their experiences and evaluate the effectiveness of interventions and programs. I am most excited to advocate for the needs of the families I will be working with in the design of the telehealth program. I am also provided an opportunity to work with the lead epidemiologic researchers to gain a new skillset in program evaluation - two experiences that I was hoping for in an internship!