Student Spotlight: Moriah Hibbard

Moriah Hibbard says the connections she made with professors as undergraduate student majoring in public health made her want to continue on to earn her MPH.

 Name: Moriah Hibbard

Hometown: Cartersville, Ga.

Undergraduate degrees and institutions:
I earned an associate degree in communications from Georgia Highlands College and my B.S. in Public Health from Georgia State.

Why did you choose the Georgia State School of Public Health?
I chose Georgia State for my master’s because I loved my undergrad professors so much. They poured into me, and I appreciated how much they cared about my life outside of school. They wrote all my letters of recommendation and are the reason I have become a better public health professional.

Which MPH concentration did you choose, and why?
I chose epidemiology because I love doing research and working in population-based and minority health.

What advice would you give undergraduate students considering pursing an MPH at Georgia State?
I would tell them to maintain relationships with all their teachers. Listen to them and absorb all that you can. They have immense public health experience and will make you a better public health professional. I cannot say it enough. You are not annoying; they want to know you and invest in you.

Tell us about your campus involvement?
I joined the Public Health Association because it was an opportunity to hear from public health advisors and soak up all they have to teach. The Public Health Association provided me with the chance to listen to speakers who work in public health and connect to others who are in a public health program themselves or working in the field.

For the past year I have worked as a teaching assistant for professors Terry Pechacek, Marie Parker, Desmond Banks, Ashli Owen-Smith and Susan Snyder. This has been a special opportunity for me to partake in, and I have enjoyed learning and meeting with these professors regularly. The class I have been working in is “Fundamentals of Health Systems, Leadership and Policy.” I have really enjoyed getting to know the professors on a personal level and absorbing all I can from them. Also, I was a graduate assistant. I got the opportunity to work under the new President of Georgia State, Brian Blake, to meet with students and understand what it takes to get them back onto campus after COVID. I also had weekly meetings with professors from different campuses to understand what they believe would help students to return to campus. I collected data and synthesized information concerning the needs of students and professors to provide to my supervisor so that she could put these motions into action.

Where is your favorite place on campus?
There are so many nooks in the Urban Life building I like to sit in. Urban Life building is my safe space and reminds me of my undergrad and how much I’ve grown. It’s very nostalgic for me.

What’s your career aspiration?
I want to work in maternal and child health. I am not picky because I love so many different aspects of health in that area, but I would love to work in abortion access and providing teaching opportunities and education to providers to understand what they can do to help those who need to access a safe abortion due to all the recent policy changes.