By Ella Jean Raymundo, Amherst College, Future Public Health Leaders Program (FPHLP)
Geese at Gallup Park
Running Into Chaos
Running in Ann Arbor this summer feels like placing a bet against the universe. I’m not from here, and honestly, every morning is a surprise. Sometimes the sky looks clear but smells like smoke – thanks, Canada. Sometimes I make it two blocks before I’m drenched by warm summer rainfall. Other times I nearly get hit by a car because drivers in this town have somewhere to be and zero patience for pedestrians, apparently. And always, without fail, I’m hunted down by the territorial geese of Gallup Park like I owe them money.
Still, I keep running. Partly for the exercise, partly to remind myself that I exist in this body, in this town, in this very weird year. It’s 2025. Five years since I moved to California in 2020 during a global pandemic. Quiet amid massive layoffs. Climate change is no longer a theory – it’s a daily mood swing.
FPHLP at Full Speed – Finding Balance and Resourcefulness in Real Time
Then there’s FPHLP – the Future Public Health Leaders Program, a CDC-funded summer program under the University of Michigan School of Public Health (SPH) that prepares undergraduates for public health careers. It’s kind of like running, too. You show up not fully knowing what you’re doing, and just try not to fall before the finish line.
The weeks move fast. One second you’re in a lecture about health equity in SPH, and the next you’re sitting in a Michigan Senate session in Lansing. Somewhere in between our hectic schedule, we fit in time to attend the much needed group wellness session. Making space to discuss our experiences in the group wellness sessions certainly doesn’t solve the problems we’re facing; but it is a helpful start to processing the ongoing challenges as a collective, rather than trying to carry the weight of uncertainty alone. Budgets are still being cut. People are quietly laid off. Meanwhile, everyone seems to have forgotten about bird flu while I am trying not to freak out about it. Great.
But then the evenings come. And with them: peace…and love? Or at least Love Island. There’s something comforting about watching trashy reality TV with people who spend their days trying to dismantle systems of oppression. We care too much about the world and also way too much about whether or not Taylor is going to choose Clarke or Olandria.
Striving for balance? That’s real. That’s public health.
Like most collegiate-level internships, I’ve had my fair share of challenges. The real test wasn’t just in navigating the day-to-day chaos, it was learning how to move forward with incomplete information, to make decisions when the direction was unclear, and to adapt quickly when expectations shifted. Whether I was sifting through scattered continuing education requirements across Region V states or reworking outreach materials to better connect with local communities for our community based research project, I had to rely on creativity and critical thinking as I went. This wasn’t just a cool summer program to show off on LinkedIn. It’s a crash course in resourcefulness. In how to rise despite all the barriers we’re facing.
Seeing Public Health Beyond Coursework – The Key to The Finish Line
Public health lives in the stuff beyond the syllabus. Beyond the student handbook and 24-pt Arial powerpoint slideshow. It’s in the informal conversations over lunch where someone casually blows your mind with a new perspective. It’s in who gets to feel safe walking around their neighborhood for exercise. It’s in navigating the bus routes, dodging potholes during your commute, and all of the decisions we make on a daily-basis shaped by the systems we can’t exactly see but always feel.
The truth is, I still don’t know if I’m going to be in public health. Some days I’m sure of it. Other days I spiral about whether I’ll find a job at all. But I’ve realized that most people around me are just as unsure, if not more. There’s a kind of quiet solidarity amongst the FPHLPer’s and, frankly, everyone in public health in not having things figured out. While we may not have it figured out, we’ve built a community that will help us carry through our uncertainties together. And that makes me feel like I’m exactly where I need to be.
This field is bigger, messier, and more deeply human than I ever imagined, and wherever I end up, I’m taking it with me. It’s the undercurrent that will steer me in the right direction—assuming I make it back from my run in one piece. And honestly, I know I will.