Academics

Health Policy and Administration student follows passion for global health

Credit: Penn StateCreative Commons

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — After struggling to find an internship for the summer of 2020, Haley Peck, a Penn State student majoring in health policy and administration, called on the skills she learned inside the classroom to help her land a valuable experience that met her personal and professional goals.

At the undergraduate level, health policy and administration students are required to complete an internship during their junior or senior year to apply their developing knowledge and skills to real-world practice.

Peck learned of the opportunity through the Health Policy and Administration internship database and immediately applied for the opening.

“I reached out to Jeff Wagner, director of operations for Living Waters for the World,” she said.

The organization works to implement water filtration systems and trains members of the community on how to use them.

“I sent him my resume and personal statement that I wrote in the course HPA 390 — Professional Development in Health Policy and Administration, which he said set me apart from all the other applicants. He could tell I was passionate about global health.”

She served as the first intern for the organization, where she constructed and ran a pilot measurement and evaluation program.

Peck worked to create a survey to send to a group of filter sites in Guatemala, which was used to understand the impact that the water systems were having on the participating communities.

“After many virtual meetings with people that ran the site in Guatemala, members of the executive board and daily check-ins with my preceptor, I was able to use the results of the survey to create a dashboard with the data and translate it to be more understandable,” said Peck. “Living Waters for the World is an amazing company that takes volunteers around the world for anyone who is interested.”

Learn more about the Health Policy and Administration program at Penn State.

Last Updated May 4, 2021

Contact