Peer Support Team
Introduction to the Peer Support Team Heading link
The Peer Support Team members are advanced MPH students who are dedicated to helping their fellow students succeed academically. The team offers individual and group sessions to help students understand public health concepts and skills, and to assist with class assignments in a relaxed and supportive environment. Services are free of charge and available to all undergraduate and masters-level Public Health students, regardless of skill level or comfort with the material. From understanding basic content to more advanced support, visiting the Peer Support Team is a great way to increase your comfort and success in your academic work.
The Peer Support Team is comprised of 4 members: a Writing Specialist, Undergraduate Writing Specialist, and two Quantitative Methods Specialists. The Writing Specialist provides assistance with all aspects of written assignments, including brainstorming paper topics, thesis development, paper organization, proofreading and citations. The Quantitative Methods Specialists review basic concepts and methods, review homework assignments, conduct exam review sessions, provide SAS assistance, and more. All Specialists work with one another and in consultation with course instructors, TAs and ODI staff to ensure that students at SPH have the support they need to succeed in their coursework. Schedule an appointment with a member of the Peer Support Team today!
Peer Support Team Rules Heading link
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About the rules
- Be on time
- Try logging into Zoom ahead of time to address technical issues
- If you schedule a meeting and find yourself running late, please contact the person you scheduled a meeting with to let them know that you are running late
- If you are more than 15 minutes late, your appointment will be automatically canceled and your time slot will be given to another student
- Students are limited to three scheduled Peer Support sessions per week. Feel free to reach out via email if you foresee needing further support
- Complete sign-in sheet for each session (find links below)
- Be prepared
- To makes best use of time, please come prepared with assignment prompts and drafted work before your session
- For Quantitative sessions, we recommend coming prepared with specific questions and sharing with the specialist what you have already tried
Please Note:
- The Peer Support Team strives to create an accessible and respectful environment; those who disrupt that environment will be asked to leave
- If you miss more than 3 scheduled sessions without advanced notice, your access to the Peer Support Team could be temporarily suspended. Please make sure to always contact the Peer Support Team when you foresee missing an appointment
Sign-in Links
- Please sign-in prior to your scheduled appointment.
- Please complete the post session survey after your session with a PST member.
- *Sign-in and post surveys must be completed for every visit.
- Be on time
Quantitative Methods Specialist Heading link
Jennifer Lee, MPH Candidate
Biostatistics
Jennifer Lee (she/her/hers) is a second year MPH student in Biostatistics. She has a BS in interdisciplinary health science and a minor in informatics from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Her undergraduate research was in human factors and aging where she looked at domestic robots. This summer, Jenny interned at Lurie Children’s Hospital where she worked on a data science project centering around clinical alarms and alarm fatigue. Jenny loves to explore how data can be processed, used, and even interpreted. She’s looking forward to meeting the new students and helping them understand quantitative methods!
Quantitative Methods Specialist Heading link
Cameron Zielke, PhD Candidate
Epidemiology
Cameron Zielke(he/him/his) is a second year PhD student in Epidemiology with a concentration in Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety. He has a MS in Epidemiology from University of North Texas Health Science Center. His main area of interest for research is the effects of air pollution on health outcomes, specifically asthma. He is currently working on projects involving Coronavirus and pregnancy, the interaction of pain and sleep on depressive symptoms, and consecutive absences effects on school performance. Cameron is excited to be a Quantitative Methods Specialist for the Peer Support Team and looks forward to meeting new students and helping further their understanding of Quantitative methods.
Writing Specialist Heading link
Kristen Lawrence, MPH Candidate
Community Health Sciences
Kristen Lawrence (she/her/hers) is a second-year MPH student in Community Health Sciences, with a concentration in Maternal and Child Health. Kristen holds a Master of Education from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and is certified as a child life specialist. She is pursuing an advanced degree in public health due to her belief that healthy and equitable communities are the foundation for healthy children and families. Kristen is interested in how community-based research is bridged to practice, policy, and system level change in order to address health inequities and social determinants of health, particularly in regard to childhood trauma and adverse childhood experiences. Kristen is excited to be the writing peer support specialist and looks forward to meeting and working with public health students!
Undergraduate Writing Specialist Heading link
Natalie Burda (she/they) is a first-year MPH student in Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences. She has a BA in Public Health and a minor in Italian from University of Illinois at Chicago. They are pursuing their MPH to become better equipped to care for the environmental, social, and economic health of communities. Her work and research interests lie in environmental racism, climate change, reproductive justice, global health access, and more. Natalie is very excited to be the first Undergraduate Peer Support Specialist, a new position in ODI. She looks forward to working with students and helping them with any academic and professional needs.