Rooted in Purpose: Two Meaningful Moments, One Memorable Day

May 13 was one of those rare days that reminded me exactly why I do this work.

Earlier that day, I had the privilege of facilitating a workshop on Building Your Public Health Brand and leading a team-building exercise with the dedicated Sickle Cell Disease Team at the American Society of Hematology.

The session centered on a theme I care deeply about: our professional brand is more than a title or résumé. It is how we show up, how we lead, how we collaborate, and how we root ourselves in purpose and impact. Working with a team so committed to advancing care, advocacy, and equity for communities impacted by sickle cell disease was energizing and affirming. Their openness, engagement, and willingness to lean into reflection made the experience especially meaningful.

Then, later that same day, I experienced a personal milestone.

I was formally inducted into the Delta Omega Honorary Society, Omega Chapter, at The George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health.

To be recognized by an institution and community that has played such an important role in my own public health journey was deeply humbling. I was especially honored to be one of only five faculty members inducted this year, and the only Woman of Color among them. That reality was not lost on me.

Representation matters.

It matters in our classrooms. It matters in leadership. It matters in the spaces where decisions are made, knowledge is shaped, and future public health leaders are developed. To stand in that moment was both an honor and a reminder of the responsibility we carry to keep doors open, widen pathways, and ensure others can see themselves reflected in these spaces too.

What struck me most about that day was the balance of both experiences.

In one moment, I was pouring into others through facilitation, leadership development, and shared learning. In the next, I was being poured into through recognition, affirmation, and community.

That is the beauty of this field.

Public health is not just about programs, policies, and outcomes. It is about people. It is about legacy. It is about continuously building, serving, and growing, while staying rooted in the values that brought us here in the first place.

May 13 reminded me of that.

And for that, I am deeply grateful.