Laura Dugom earned her Master of Public Health (MPH) from the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health just in time.

“Literally the week after I completed my thesis, I started a new position with FHI Clinical, a company branching out of the FHI 360 family, in a leadership position,” she says. “The timing couldn’t have been more perfect.”

FHI 360 is an organization that works to support communities in an ethical and sustainable way by tackling a diverse scope of health-related topics like AIDs, gender and health equality, education and nutrition. An extension of the 360 family, FHI Clinical focuses specifically on mission-driven research. In her role as an associate project manager, Dugom coordinates and supports studies from beginning to end, while helping to direct the operational and technical aspects of projects.

“The opportunity to be a part of COVID trials in the midst of a pandemic and use my experience from UNC with FHI Clinical is really exciting,” she says. “I am grateful to be a part of this work.”

“The program being remote ended up preparing me for this remote role. I was able to develop the discipline needed for remote learning and apply those skills to my current role in COVID research.”

FHI Clinical’s inspiring mission resonated with Dugom, and earning her MPH gave her new confidence to do the work she loves.

“I have a lot more perspective on what I do and now have the ability to extend myself further thanks to the skills and tools I learned at Gillings.”

Dugom knew she wanted her career to involve health after enjoying her undergraduate courses in the subject, but it wasn’t until she interned at a nonprofit with a public health focus that something clicked.

“I knew this is where I wanted to be,” she says.

She took a proactive approach, reaching out to professors and advisers at the Gillings School before she applied to ensure that she was a good fit for the program and that the program would further her goals. Ultimately, Gillings’ MPH@UNC program is the only one to which she applied.

“I think when you decide to invest in furthering your education, you need to be sure the program aligns with what you want to accomplish as an individual — both professionally and personally. Gillings checked all those boxes for me with the well-rounded core classes and emphasis on diversity and change.”

Before classes began, Dugom was apprehensive about the online format of the program and worried she wouldn’t be able to connect with her classmates. She happily reports, however, “I couldn’t have been more wrong.” She formed strong relationships with her fellow students during group projects.

“It’s amazing how we were able to successfully work together despite factors like different time zones, work schedules and life responsibilities. I think that speaks to the caliber of students in the program. You develop relationships so easily because you know everyone has a passion for public health and a desire to create change, and it’s hard not to bond over that. I still keep in contact with classmates from the program.”

Dugom also appreciated the versatile offerings of her classes and the high-quality, challenging course material.

“In fact,” she says, “I think some of the most enjoyable classes just so happened to be the most challenging, as well.

She worked closely with her mentor — another relationship she maintains to this day.

“Even though I graduated, I still talk to my mentor at least once a month.”

The flexibility of UNC Gillings’ online MPH courses allowed Dugom to work full time while building the foundation she needed to take her skills further.

“The program allowed me to explore my interests, like patient advocacy in public health and clinical research, and integrate them into my career,” she says. And the format let her digest the material how and when she needed to.

“The prerecorded material lectures were beyond beneficial because you could pause and rewind lectures and really learn at your own time and pace.”

Dugom pursued the MPH Leadership concentration, which let her put her strongest skill at the forefront of her education. She recommends the concentration to public health students regardless of their discipline.

“The leadership concentration allows you to build upon your existing skill set as a leader and propel yourself forward,” she explains. “Essentially, it is a concentration that grows with you in your career education and gets even better over time as you learn how to apply what you’re studying through experience.”

Dugom participated as a conference moderator for the Gillings School’s annual Minority Health Conference, the largest and longest-running student-led conference in the country, which was founded to raise awareness around health disparities and mobilize participants to take action for change. She says her classmates inspired her to get involved.

“There are a ton of opportunities to get involved. Many of my peers took the initiative and said, ‘I want to start being a force in public health now and get the most out of my education.’ The passion and initiative of other students in the program was beyond motivating.”

Now, Dugom is guiding the next generation of MPH@UNC students as a student ambassador because she wants to pay that motivation forward.

The sky’s the limit for Dugom, who plans to use the leadership skills she gained through MPH@UNC to go even further.

“Gillings has taught me how to embrace challenges to grow and stimulate change, so we will see what comes next! I want to continue to grow in leadership roles and improve how we conduct research and health care, and I know I want to further my education and research.”

How far will she go, and how lofty are her goals?

“You never know,” she says. “I don’t think there is a limit.”

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