The next day, I headed out on I-94 to the Washtenaw County Human Services building in Ypsilanti. It was kind of a gloomy day and didn't help my feeling of anxiety about meeting new people and making a good impression.
I arrived early and went inside to sign-in (since I didn't have my badge yet to get around the building) at reception and was taken upstairs to my little cubicle. No one was sure which cubicle I was supposed to be in so they sat me in the multi-purpose intern cubicle where four other computers were scattered about. I felt very alone, entering into a system of office and people rules that I had yet to know and understand. First days are always a little rough.
I am a people person, so before knowing that you need to mark your lunch items in the fridge, I want to know what you bring to lunch, why you brought it, your story, and how welcoming you are to eating lunch with new people. Luckily everyone in the Public Health Education department was very nice and went out of their way to introduce themselves. I always feel that I am overcritical of myself when it comes to making an impression because i am hyper-sensitive to body language and verbal reaction. I wanted people to laugh with me, make witty jokes, or just give me a sign that they were just as awkward as I am and understood my slight quirks. I didn't really have enough interaction with everyone to garner that sort of understanding, but I will have plenty of time in the next couple of weeks. Along with understanding what the heck I will be doing for the summer.
Like promoting eating fresh fruits and veggies at the farmer's market in Ypsilanti by giving incentives (like money) to patients with chronic illnesses (like diabetes, cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, etc.)--this is just some of what I will be doing. I am excited about this program because I love farmer's markets and what they represent and I love exposing people to good food (especially when it has such positive health benefits). I am also working with trying to get low-income housing complexes to go smoke free. As much as I am completely for a program like this, I see a few shortcomings. The state wants to try and do this without providing any tangible resources to help residents quit (like tobacco cessation therapy, discounts on tobacco cessation medication, etc.)--they just want to kick them out or expect them to quit and if they need to, call a toll-free number for phone counseling. I don't really see many people (including building managers and the housing commission) complying. There are benefits, however--the financial burden of housing smokers could be a deterrent and it would give an extra push to those who want to quit. However, there are many complex issues around the reasons so many low-income residents smoke besides it being physically addictive. That's part of my projects. I think I will be doing a lot with helping other programs with graphic design projects (like the website, posters, etc.) which makes me feel more confident because it is something I know I can do and do well.
Today I went to my first meeting and it was a little surreal. It was a coalition-type meeting for Community Conversations, a program that deals with getting community stakeholders and residents of the African American and Latino communities to talk about health issues and the social/economic barriers that create minority health disparities. It was like everything I had learned about these meetings in the classes and textbooks I had was just playing out in front of me in real life. I have been on coalitions, I have run meetings, but not on the scale of actuallyaffecting an entire county. So this is what government CAN do. It made me love public health all over again.
The rest of the day was pretty mundane. I got to go home early because there wasn't much for me to do since my supervisor hadn't come back to work yet since she broke her wrist. I came home and took a nap; getting up early again is going to take a while to get used to.
Some cool things about the Washtenaw County Public Health Department:
-ALOT of people ride their bikes--in fact I will be meeting a colleague tomorrow to bike together to work. I am still a little nervous about riding in the city, but it shouldn't be too bad. Ann Arbor is also putting on May: Challenge Month which is encouraging people to bike, walk, or take public transportation to work. Very cool
-They have a Yoga instructor come in during lunch sometimes to put on an hour class for employees. This is paid out of pocket, however, but it is still pretty cool.
-They brew Starbucks coffee in the kitchen. Pretty awesome.
-There's plants everywhere. I like that sort of environment.
-People there are just very nice and, it is safe to say, very progressive.
I think I am going to like it there just as long as I can do some great work and keep pushing myself to open up and meet people.
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