APHL-CDC Scholarship Recipients/HOSA Students Explain Their Passion for Laboratory Science

In June 2024, Dana Baker, APHL’s manager of Academic Partnerships, and I had the pleasure of attending the HOSA-Future Health Professionals (HOSA) International Leadership Conference in Houston, Texas. HOSA, a global student-led organization, seeks to empower students of health professions to become leaders through education, collaboration and experience.

This year, Career Pathways in Public Health Laboratory Science: an APHL-CDC Initiative, funded $2,000 scholarships for 10 current students interested in pursuing careers in laboratory science. While at the conference, we had the opportunity to meet several of them and learn not only about the impressive accomplishments they’ve made during their time in high school and college but also celebrate their achievements at the scholarship reception.

“For me, the most fascinating part of laboratory science comes from the potential for groundbreaking innovations,” said Owais Kamran, one of this year’s scholarship recipients.

Here, we highlight five of the 2024 scholarship recipients and invite you to learn about what led to their passion for laboratory science.

Dawoon Jung

Jung intends to pursue a 4+1 program for public health where she can obtain both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in five years. In the future, she aspires to work as a public health representative in public health institutions such as Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations (UN).

Jung’s interest in public health stems from her family’s long history with polycystic kidney disease (PKD). Through HOSA, Jung competed in an event where she researched and found a healthy lifestyle solution to mitigate her own disease risk and that of others in similar situations.

Carmyn Heltunen

Heltunen intends to complete a medical laboratory science program at Michigan Technological University. Currently, she works at her local hospital as a patient service representative and phlebotomist. In the future, she hopes to work in a hospital as a medical laboratory scientist.

Heltunen became interested in a career as a medical laboratory scientist through assorted classes focused on health careers and through her mother, who works as the director of the laboratory at her local hospital.

Owais Kamran

Kamran intends to pursue a pre-medical track with a degree in engineering from Wake Forest University. He later plans to become a biomedical engineer for research in regenerative medicine technologies and is also potentially interested in working for industry companies such as Eli Lilly.

Kamran’s interest in this field began while volunteering at a local Novant Health Medical Center in the emergency department. Additionally, he participated in a Wake Forest School of Regenerative Medicine summer program. He was astounded by the groundbreaking and revolutionary technologies being developed and became interested in working in the medical and health research field using the perspective of engineering.

Madeline Bough

Bough intends to pursue her doctorate degree in microbiology with a focus on disease. She currently attends the University of Michigan and is a Michigan Research Discovery Scholar, which gives her the opportunity to participate in undergraduate research. This will help prepare her for her goal of becoming a researcher at CDC.

Bough has always had the drive to help people, but what compelled her to pursue public health was her technical school, the Lenawee Intermediate School District (LISD) TECH Center, where she studied biochemical technology and fell in love with science.

Hadasah Mensah

Mensah intends to pursue her associate degree in biology at Columbus State Community College. She then plans to transfer to Ohio University to obtain her bachelor’s degree. Her future career goal is to become a medical laboratory technician and potentially move into a scientist position.

Mensah’s interest in this career path began during high school when she attended a career center for bioscience and engaged in laboratory activities in the classroom. She’s most drawn to the positive impact that medial laboratory scientists have on other people.

Additional recipients include Alicia Krohnfeldt, Samadhi Williamson, Daniela Cisneros, June Jang and Jasmine Nyanoh.