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Armenda Bialas didn’t initially plan to work in public health. In fact, she didn’t even know the field existed when she began her undergraduate studies in psychology. What she did know was that she wanted to help people—a goal that would ultimately guide her through a series of pivots, challenges and discoveries that shaped her career.
Today, Bialas (MPH ’24) is a policy analyst at RAND, a non-profit, non-partisan research organization. Working across health, education, social and economic fields, Bialas’ role combines her skills in project management, data analysis and program evaluation. Her journey shows that you don’t need a perfectly defined path to build a meaningful career.
“The best thing to me about public health is that there are so many ways to pivot,” she said. “You can do so many things with your degree.”
Discovering a Bigger Picture
After earning her undergraduate degree in psychology from the University of Tampa, Bialas began working in case management at a homeless shelter. She describes the experience as intense and deeply impactful.
Although she initially planned to pursue a Ph.D. in clinical psychology, her experiences working with people who were experiencing homelessness began to shift her perspective. The challenges she encountered—housing instability, substance use and lack of access to care, to name just a few—weren’t just individual issues. They were systemic.
At the same time, she realized that doctoral programs prioritized research experience, which prompted her to accept a research position in which she worked on projects related to tobacco policy, mental health, food insecurity and maternal health. It was then that everything clicked.
“I was connecting the dots,” she said. “All the work I had been doing started to make sense in a bigger way.”
That “bigger way” was public health—a field focused not just on individual outcomes, but on the systems and conditions that shape them.
Choosing an MPH—Strategically
As Bialas began exploring graduate programs, she knew that she wanted a high-quality education that would prepare her for the next step in her career. But she also didn’t want to take on an unsustainable level of student debt.
During a work trip, she just happened to meet a graduate of Georgia State who encouraged her to look into the university and ask about graduate research assistantships (GRAs) that include tuition waivers. Bialas was able to secure an assistantship working alongside Associate Professor Ashli Owen-Smith, as well as a competitive American Public Health Association (APHA) Kaiser Permanente scholarship that helped cover her living expenses. Together, these funding sources allowed her to complete her MPH debt-free. “I’m so thankful for the assistantship and the scholarship,” she said.
Learning by Doing
While coursework provided a strong academic foundation, Bialas’ said that some of her most meaningful learning happened through hands-on experiences.
As a graduate research assistant, she worked closely with faculty on projects involving refugee communities, maternal health and community-based research. The role gave her significant responsibility—and the freedom to grow. She led research projects, contributed to manuscripts and even published an academic journal article as a first author.
She also encountered challenges that became valuable learning experiences. In one project, she developed survey materials for a Swahili-speaking population. After having them translated, she distributed the forms—only to realize they were written in the wrong dialect. Participants couldn’t complete them, and she couldn’t collect any data. She emphasized that the experience highlighted the importance of cultural and linguistic nuance in public health in a way that no textbook could.
“It was frustrating,” Bialas said, “but I’ll carry that lesson with me throughout my career.”
Expanding Her Perspective
Bialas’ graduate experience also included working with community organizations and participating in a study abroad program in Ghana. These opportunities deepened her understanding of how public health operates across different cultural and global contexts.
Whether working locally with refugee populations or internationally in a new environment, she saw firsthand how important it is to design research and interventions that are responsive to community needs. These experiences reinforced a key principle of public health: solutions must be grounded in the realities of the people they are meant to serve.
Building a Career in Research
After earning her MPH, Bialas transitioned into a full-time role as a senior research and evaluation analyst with forHealth Consulting at UMass Chan Medical School. She had worked at RAND as a research assistant prior to earning her MPH and was able to rejoin the organization in 2025 in a position of greater responsibility as a policy analyst.
In her current position, she manages projects across a wide range of topics, including education, military health and social services. Her work combines project management, qualitative research and translating findings into actionable insights—all skills that she honed as she pursued her MPH at Georgia State.
She said that one of the most rewarding aspects of her role is its variety. “You’re working on so many different things,” she said. “You’re never going to get bored.”
For Bialas, adaptability has become essential.
The Value of Transferable Skills
One of the biggest takeaways from Bialas’s MPH experience is the versatility of the degree.
Even when she’s not working directly on health-related projects, she relies on the same core skills: understanding complex systems, conducting qualitative analysis, managing projects and working with diverse stakeholders.
“It’s all the same skill set,” she explained. “You’re just applying it in different contexts.”
This flexibility has allowed her to navigate changes in her field while continuing to build a meaningful career.
Advice for Future Students
For those considering an MPH, Bialas offers three key pieces of advice:
- Keep an open mind.
Public health is a broad field with many possible career paths. Being flexible allows you to discover opportunities you may not have considered. - Connect with people.
“Network with people in different fields—policy, healthcare, academia,” she said. “It helps you understand what’s out there.” - Understand the degree’s versatility.
An MPH can lead to careers in research, healthcare, social services and more—but it’s up to you to explore those options.
A Career Shaped by Connection
If there’s one theme that defines Bialas’s journey, it’s connection—between experiences, disciplines and people.
A single conversation helped her find the right graduate program. Her work connected individual struggles to broader systems. And ongoing networking continues to shape her career.
“You just never know where opportunities are going to come from,” she said.
Bialas said that for prospective public health students, the message is clear: You don’t need to have everything figured out from the start. What matters is staying curious, being open to change and taking advantage of the opportunities that come your way.
Because in public health, the path forward is rarely linear—but it can be deeply impactful.