Graduate Profile: Robin O'Neill
Robin O’Neill came to Alma College looking to help people in need — but she discovered that she could help a whole population.
“At Alma, I received an amazing education with learning opportunities that just aren't available at larger schools.”
“My senior year I became drawn to a career in public health,” the 2007 graduate says. “I became interested in infectious diseases and how and why they are spread.”
O’Neill currently works as the Emergency Preparedness Assistant with the Chippewa County Health Department in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.
She helps develop plans on how the county will respond to events such as chemical spills, multi-victim accidents, bioterrorism events or widespread food contamination.
In fall 2008 she entered graduate school at the University of Michigan for her master's degree in public health and hopes to work for an international non-profit organization.
“With a master's degree in public health I can use my science background to serve populations of people by investigating the underlying causes of disease,” O’Neill says.
“The exercise and health science faculty was a huge help to me,” she says. “They offered to write as many letters of recommendations as need be, and they were willing to put in the time to help me even after I was no longer one of their students.”
O’Neill was drawn to Alma by the liberal arts education and the small atmosphere.
“At Alma, I received an amazing education with learning opportunities that just aren't available at larger schools,” she says.
A spring term trip to Nicaragua in 2006 influenced her desire to work with populations in Central in South America.
“After living and interacting with the locals and witnessing a shockingly constant state of widespread poverty, which I had never before encountered," she says. "I realized how much potential we have to help people in need.”
While at Alma, she was co-founder of the campus chapter of Habitat for Humanity and served as co-president for three years. She also was part of the jazz band, played piano for the Alma College chapel band and was a mentor for Big Brothers/Big Sisters.
