Sierra Swint
July 8, 2021
Professor Hooper
Philosophy Statement
Growing up I always had a dream of being a superhero, so I wanted a job where I felt
like I was making a change, helping the community, and spreading overall happiness. I did not
one to just help and protect one individual at a time but to do something in a way that can
affect a large population instead. So, from there I started exploring many fields but the one that
I thought would best fit me was Public Health.
Many may ask so what exactly is Public Health? Public Health is the promotion and
protection of the safety of the community’s health. Public health professionals bring awareness
to different population such as neighborhoods, communities, cities, or states. Before a problem
arises or if a problem that affects a population have already arise, Public Health professionals
bring awareness to the community and follow at the Certified Health Education Specialist
(CHES) Responsibilities which includes Assess, plan, implement, evaluate, advocate,
communicate, demonstrate leadership and management, and lastly while doing all of that
make sure you are doing the most ethical thing and while showing professionalism. Following
those same procedures, the topic in Public Health that I am going to focus on is Mental Health. I
chose Mental Health because I have a lot of friends and family members who at one point was
suffered with mental illness such as depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, etc. At the time
thought there was not a lot of awareness in the topic of Mental Health and Mental Illness and
because of that many problems that my friends and family were going through was brushed off
as them having a bad day or being moody. It was not until recently that the promotion of
mental health was being spread. This motivated me to provide additional awareness and
promotion about mental health and mental illness.
After obtaining my Bachelor of Science in Health with a concentration in Public Health
and a minor in Health Education I will go back to receive a PHD in Physical Therapy. While in
school I will start volunteering at non-profit organizations that promotes Mental Health and
Mental illness awareness amongst the community. Once I am established, I will open my own
Physical Therapy Rehabilitation center that not only provides the clients with recovering
physically but also mentally. I am going to implement a program in the Rehabilitation center
that we will have both counselors and therapist in the building that offer sessions that will be
funded by the center and made free to anyone that is in need. I believe this would be helpful
because a lot of people don’t understand that they are truly struggling with their mental health
while in physical therapy until it reaches a very low point. I currently had surgery on my foot
and the pain was pretty much tolerable and although I know my situation was temporary, I
became very depressed and started to hate the way my body was changing since I was on bed
rest. If there was a program that was so convenient and free, I believe it would have helped me
drastically thought my recovery. If it has happened to me, I know it has happened to others
around the world and I believe this plan will impact and benefit many lives.