November 9, 2020 | Erin Bluvas, bluvase@sc.edu
One of the reasons Shaena Rouse chose UofSC for graduate school was because she knew she wanted to work in South Carolina after completing her degree – to give back to the place where she was raised. Another reason was the Arnold School’s status as the only accredited school of public health in the state. The final reason was the specific program that drew her interest: Master of Public Health in Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior (HPEB).
“I wanted to attend one of the best schools in the South for public health,” Rouse says. “The HPEB program had all of my ideal academic components, including community health, evaluation, program planning and a practice-based field opportunity to work in the field of public health.”
Rouse’s path to public health began while she was working in a genetics lab in Greenwood, South Carolina – her first job after earning a bachelor’s degree in biological sciences from Clemson University. After a year with a clinical health organization, she decided to pursue a master’s degree in a public health field to help improve communities and create a culture of health in a variety of settings.
I wanted to attend one of the best schools in the South for public health.
-Shaena Rouse, 2011 Master of Public Health in Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior graduate
During her program, Rouse found mentors in Associate Dean for Undergraduate Student Affairs Sara Corwin, clinical associate professor Kara Montgomery and senior instructor Casey Giraudy. “Dr. Corwin has such a sharp wit and emphasized the importance of evaluation that has followed me in all of my work in my career,” Rouse says. “Dr. Montgomery assisted me in career development and coaching, and Dr. Giraudy’s commitment to supporting students helped me develop my own passion for working with students and serving in a variety of preceptor roles.”
Since her 2011 graduation, Rouse has carried these lessons forward in her work as a public health professional – first as a research associate with the Arnold School’s then-Office of Public Health Practice, next as a health educator/coordinator with Student Health Services’ Healthy Carolina initiative, and then as a program manager for the South Carolina Obesity Action Plan with the South Carolina Institute of Medicine and Public Health. For the past year, she has worked as a community researcher with United Way of Central Carolinas.
In each of these roles, Rouse looks for opportunities to engage students through practice experiences (e.g., graduate assistantships). She is currently developing a formal internship process for United Way of Central Carolinas, partnering with local colleges and universities to connect students with real-life experiences in the non-profit sector.
“I cannot emphasize enough the importance of practice-based experience in the field of public health,” Rouse says. “Taking advantage of opportunities to work in numerous sectors will allow students to experience different facets of public health and help them hone in on skills and working environments that are most important for them in their careers.”
She has also applied the concepts she learned from her courses. Rouse points to her academic experiences for helping her understand the importance of relationship-building by identifying community needs and data points, allowing her to work collaboratively with specific groups to create tailored programming.
My degree in public health, specifically in health promotion, education, and behavior, has always guided me in my work.
-Shaena Rouse, 2011 Master of Public Health in Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior graduate
In her current role, Rouse conducts community health needs assessments to help inform decision making for community investments and priorities. She also leads evaluation activities to assess the impact of the organization’s strategies, facilitates learning experiences for their funded agencies to build capacity related to reporting outcome data using a racial equity lens, and provides technical assistance to these groups.
“My degree in public health, specifically in health promotion, education, and behavior, has always guided me in my work,” Rouse says. “Another common thread in my work has been the opportunity to work and improve health in South Carolina. I have a true passion for working to improve environments and communities and that was evident in all of my jobs. In the future, I aspire to take on a leadership role that that affords me the opportunity to be a change agent for health and well-being for all to benefit and thrive.”