Ashmita Baral Yuna Explores How Health Systems and Community Trust Shape Better Care

Ashmita Baral Yuna chose Georgia State for its commitment to real-world public health solutions. She says the emphasis of the MPH program on community-based work and applied research encourages students to learn directly from the people and settings that public health is meant to serve.

Name: Ashmita Baral Yuna

Hometown: Lalitpur, Nepal

Undergraduate degree and institution: Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery, Dhaka University

Expected date of graduation: May 2027

Why did you choose the Georgia State School of Public Health?
I chose Georgia State because I wanted a school that doesn’t treat public health like it only lives in textbooks. Atlanta is full of real communities, real systems and real problems that need practical solutions, and that is exactly the kind of learning environment I was looking for. What stood out to me most was how strongly Georgia State aligns with community-based work and applied research, and how the program encourages students to learn directly from the people and settings that public health is meant to serve.

 Which MPH concentration did you choose, and why?
I chose Health Promotion and Behavior because I’ve learned, across countries and across different healthcare settings, that knowing what is healthy is rarely the main problem. The bigger challenge is the gap between information and action. People’s decisions are shaped by trust, stigma, stress, culture, family expectations, finances and what resources they can realistically access. I saw this in Nepal, during my medical training in Bangladesh, and again after working as a chief business development officer, where I had to think beyond individual care and focus on what actually helps people follow through. This concentration made sense for me because it focuses on the psychological, social and environmental factors that drive health behavior. It gives me the tools to design interventions that are practical, culturally sensitive and built for real life, not just ideal scenarios.

What has been your favorite class in the SPH so far, and why?
My favorite class so far has been “Health Systems Leadership and Policy.” Before coming to the U.S., I did not fully understand how the U.S. health system worked, so this class gave me a perspective I genuinely needed. It helped me understand what health systems really mean here, and it also made health insurance finally make sense in a way I can explain to someone else. I learned a lot and it made me think differently about how systems shape what patients can actually access.

What advice would you give undergraduate students considering pursuing an MPH at Georgia State?
Don’t wait until you feel perfectly prepared. As I am now in the middle of it all, I think public health is something you grow into by doing. Be curious, be willing to get uncomfortable and learn how to communicate clearly. One thing I learned early in training is that people don’t automatically trust healthcare systems, and they don’t always respond to health advice the way we expect. At Georgia State, take advantage of the community connections, ask faculty questions early and treat assignments like training for the work you want to do after graduation.

Tell us about your extracurricular involvement.
I work as a Graduate Teaching Assistant for Health Systems Leadership and Policy. Being a teaching assistant has strengthened my leadership and communication skills, and it has been teaching me how to give clear feedback, support student learning and help people feel less overwhelmed by complex topics like how health systems and insurance work in the U.S. Additionally, I’ve started spending time at the recreation center, and it’s become part of how I stay balanced. It lifts my mood, resets my brain and honestly helps me show up better for everything else I’m doing.

What’s your favorite place on campus, and why?
One of my favorite places on campus is the picnic table area, near the library, where I can sit in the sun. It feels open and alive, but still peaceful enough to focus, and I have genuinely sat there for hours getting work done.

What’s your career aspiration?
My long-term goal is to work at the intersection of health systems, community trust and innovation—especially in settings where care is available, but people still don’t feel safe or respected enough to access it early. I want to return with stronger tools to help shift how people experience healthcare in Nepal, so hospitals and clinics feel like trustworthy allies instead of last resorts. Over time, I also want to bring in smarter systems and tech solutions, but only after building the foundation where patients and providers both feel heard, and where basic access and dignity are non-negotiable. Georgia State is a big part of that direction for me, because it’s giving me the skills, perspective and real-world grounding to do this work well.