As Sofia Olay prepares to walk across the graduation stage with a Master of Public Health (MPH) degree from The University of New Mexico College of Population Health (COPH), she’ll carry with her more than a diploma. She carries a sense of purpose, renewed direction and a vision for what public health should be.
Olay’s path to graduation wasn’t a straight line. She completed her bachelor’s degree in humanities a few months before the COVID-19 pandemic started. That prompted her to realize she was drawn to something bigger.
“It cemented my curiosity for public health with everything that was going on at the time,” she said. “I learned how essential data analysis and epidemiology is and how it could really help change global health.”
That curiosity and drive to create change led her to UNM’s College of Population Health. What she found wasn’t just academic rigor in a master's program – it was a supportive environment where theory met practice, and where students like Olay were empowered to explore big ideas. She thrived in the program’s emphasis on community-based learning and collaboration.
Olay also had the chance to travel internationally as part of her practicum experience – an opportunity that turned out to be a turning point in her academic journey.
Olay worked on a research project on access to cancer treatment in Colombia as part of a Cancer Epidemiology Education in Special Populations fellowship, where she helped study social and economic disparities in starting cancer treatment.
“It was a defining moment for me, because it exposed me to what global health really is,” she said. “The context in which I conducted my research and what I needed to understand to contextualize my findings, which were the fragmentation of the insurance system and inequalities based on income and socioeconomic status, helped me see how the setting in which people live in has a huge impact on their health, and that addressing these issues is a political issue.”
Back in New Mexico, Olay continues to pursue her passion for research with a focus on cancer disparities, especially within underserved communities. Her Colombia practicum didn’t just check a box, it gave her clarity, direction and the confidence to pursue a career in public health research.
Olay’s hands-on experience shaped her vision for what kind of public health practitioner she wanted to become. Her graduate practicum focused on work that blended her background in humanities with her growing expertise in public health systems.
“We’ll always need physicians to treat our health problems, but we will also always need public health practitioners. We live in communities and societies, and the management is different than at the individual level. Public health is just as essential as direct patient care.”
– Sofia Olay, MPH Student in Epidemiology; Research Coordinator - CEESP Fellow
“We’ll always need physicians to treat our health problems,” Olay said. “But we will also always need public health practitioners. We live in communities and societies, and the management is different than at the individual level. Public health is just as essential as direct patient care.”
In the beginning, Olay wasn’t certain she could actually obtain an MPH. Like many graduate students, she juggled school with work and other responsibilities, as well as the emotional weight of the pandemic. However, she credits the COPH faculty with creating a learning environment that was both academically enriching and provided a supportive community.
Her advice to future students? Don’t wait until you have it all figured out. Olay says it’s good to follow one’s curiosity. “Public health is such a wide field,” she said. “Whether you're into policy, data, community work or something else entirely, there’s a place for you.”
Olay’s journey is a testament to what’s possible when passion meets purpose – and when students are given the tools to turn their questions into action.
Interested in joining the next generation of public health leaders?
Learn more about the Master of Public Health program.
