Hello blog readers!
My name is Maria Esposito and I am a rising second year MPH student in the Global Health Concentration. I am almost two months into my summer practicum working with UNC Professors, Dr. Audrey Pettifor and Dr. Tonia Poteat, through the UNC-Wits Reproductive Health and HIV Institute (RHI) partnership based in Johannesburg, South Africa. My practicum is focused on an implementation science research study, which will examine differentiated care models for transgender people in South Africa with regard to their HIV care.
Before starting my MPH at Gillings, I was working in USAID’s Office of Population and Reproductive Health as an Administrative Program Assistant. Most of my work consisted of project and financial management for international family planning projects. Beyond that, for most of my public health career, I have conducted and contributed to a range of research projects on global and local reproductive health issues, menstrual equity, qualitative analysis, and engaging with community stakeholders.
While looking for a practicum, I knew I wanted to explore different aspects of reproductive health, specifically outside of family planning. After a lot of reflection, I realized I had never been involved in the initial stages of a study. I see my practicum with the UNC-Wits RHI as an opportunity to build upon this, my interests, create deliverables for the study (a clinic checklist and an interview guide), while also learning significantly more about global HIV inequities, transgender care, and implementation science research in Johannesburg, South Africa. Ultimately, I am thankful to be given this practicum opportunity and be tangibly closer to UNC-Wits RHI’s research work.
With that being said, the first few weeks of my practicum were challenging. I was recovering from back to back COVID infections and a pulled nerve in my back, which has made adjusting to a schedule difficult. Thankfully, I have fully recovered and I have been able to catch up with some friends, pets like my friend’s cat (Rho) and a senior dog (Taylor), and I made friends with an Eastern Bluebird fledgling. With that being said, I am still trying to build structure in the same way that classes and working provided me, but for my practicum workflow instead. This is still a work in progress!
I certainly did not see all of the unexpected hurdles when I started my practicum, but I continue to try to find the little things that keep me energized when it comes to my practicum work.
Cheers to finding the little things this summer!
-Maria
