It has always been Alina Tofiqul’s dream to work in health care, so when she came to the University of South Carolina, she initially chose to major in neuroscience.
She realized early on, though, it wasn’t the right path for her. She found the subject interesting, but she wanted to broaden her studies to areas beyond brain research.
“I was just really interested in so many different things that I had a hard time narrowing what I wanted to study down,” says Tofiqul, a junior from Daphne, Alabama. After some reflection, she decided to change her major to public health.
She found her passion for public health after joining Alpha Epsilon Delta, a pre-health fraternity where she now serves as the vice president of operations.
“I had so many opportunities as a freshman that it seemed like the world was my oyster,” she says. “There were so many great professional, personal and academic opportunities and events that were helpful for whichever track that I was going to choose.”
She says public health encapsulated many of her interests, and it also offered her a different perspective on medicine that she felt would complement her future medical education.
“I didn’t know too much about public health, but when I was exploring the idea of majoring in it, I found out that it includes a variety of different things like health policy and chronic disease prevention — which I really enjoy,” she says. “I always had questions about what makes a good health care professional and wanted to understand what it takes to become a good doctor. And what I found was that you have to understand your patient, where they’re coming from and the influence of the environment, and that is pretty much what public health is. If you’re someone who’s pre-med doing a public health major helps you take certain things into account that people that are neuroscience or biology maybe wouldn’t.”
During her freshman year, prior to changing her major, she began working as an undergraduate research assistant at the ECHO Lab. Led by exercise science professor Chih-Hsiang Yang, the lab investigates how biological and behavioral factors influence aging and cognitive health outcomes in older and diverse populations.
She is also involved in service-oriented clubs on campus like Network of Opportunities Towards Elderly Service, where she serves as vice president, and Crochet for Carolina, which she co-founded. She is also mental health ambassador for the Student Health and Wellbeing Center.
“I feel very fulfilled when I get involved and make an impact on the community in whatever way that I can,” she says. “Whether that be working with the elderly community in NOTES or the complete opposite, crocheting beanies for babies in the NICU. Either way, it’s just nice to be able to interact with my community and really connect with those around me.”
After graduating, she would like to further her education and pursue a Master of Public Health before attending medical school. She says USC has prepared her for whatever comes next.
“I’ve learned a lot about professionalism because of the organizations I’ve been a part of and the commitments I’ve had taken on with research, ambassadors and AED,” she says. “I also go to lot of workshops about stuff like leadership, budgeting and financial stability which are offered through the Student Success Center and the Center for Student Engagement. USC has helped me develop professionally and personally. I’m still continuously doing that, but the experiences I’ve had have been very helpful in preparing me for the future.”