After graduating from high school, many people either think “I never have to go to school again!” or “Only four more years until I’m finally done with classes.” However, that is not the case for 2010 Southern Lehigh alumna Dana Urban.

After high school graduation, Urban earned a Bachelor of Arts in Global Health from the University of Richmond. Now she is back in school as a dual degree master’s student to obtain a Master of Public Health degree, a Master of Medical Science – Physician Assistant degree, and a Certificate in Complex Humanitarian Emergencies at Emory University.

“I’m working as a graduate research assistant with the Center for the Health of Incarcerated Populations at Emory. We do research on the health of people in jails and prisons, looking at things like access to HIV testing and treatment, and influenza outbreak prevention,” Urban said. “After college before graduate school, I spent time working as an Emergency Department Technician, working in an ER doing things like IVs, drawing blood, EKGs, and splints.”

Urban spent six months at Agahozo-Shalom Youth Village in Rwanda, a home providing high quality counseling and education services to teenagers.

“I worked there doing Career Development, where I helped students decide their career paths, apply to colleges and jobs, work on resumes, learn typing, study for the SATs/TOEFL, and develop other professional skills,” Urban said. “I also coached their debate team, which was a really cool experience. It was amazing.”

Since Urban is studying global health, she has visited many different places around the world, including India, China, South Africa, Peru, Rwanda, and Israel. Urban is going back to South Africa this summer to study HIV care. Her goal is to get a job in outbreak investigation, HIV/AIDS treatment, or emergency response, which are all “in the intersection of public health and clinical medicine.”

Urban’s leadership skills were developed in high school, as she was a member of the Key Club, National Honor Society, and Student Council. She was also very involved with the speech and debate team, which she calls one of the best experiences of her time in high school.

“Not only did I develop friendships with other students from around the country, I developed valuable skills in research, writing, and public speaking,” Urban said. “I am so thankful for the speech and debate team for helping me develop the skills and confidence that are a large part of me today.”

Urban was inspired to study global health after reading the book “The Hot Zone” by Richard Preston for AP Biology. She always had an interest in science and medicine, but this book and the class discussions were her introduction to infectious diseases.

When Urban is stressed by the challenges of her education, she always remembers this simple phrase as a helpful reality check: “You can do anything, but you can’t do everything.”