With stacks of textbooks, endless exams and late-night study sessions, it can be easy for those studying for a degree in public health to lose sight of the end goal: landing a career in public health.

On Saturday at APHA 2026, APHA student members were able to reevaluate and focus on their goals by learning leadership skills they can use to amplify their impact on public health and help them prepare for post-graduation. The advice and tips were presented during the “From Student to Changemaker: Building Your Network, Leadership and Impact in Public Health” student session during the all-day Student Assembly National Student Meeting.

“You can’t go out into your community and exchange contact information and hand out business cards in the middle of an outbreak,” said panelist Katherine Wells, public health director for Lubbock, Texas. She explained how public health workers can create trust with the public. “Build the relationships before anything bad happens.”

Speakers also underscored that a wide array of skills can be connected to public health.

Panelist Martha L. Cuccia, with the Louisiana State University School of Public Health, told students she was able to adapt skills she already had to fit into her public health career.  And those skills can be combined with new skills you learn in your career. Cuccia learned technical writing in a public health role writing grants.

The National Student Meeting included a fair for students to explore schools of public health and public health organizations, providing opportunities for both student members who want to continue their education and for those who want to get involved in public health outside their academic experience.

“I think being involved with APHA has been really helpful because it was really interesting to know about different perspectives and the friends you make and connections you get,” said Chandrama Chatterjee, a fourth-year PhD candidate at the University of Louisville School of Public Health and Information Sciences, who is taking on a leadership role in the Student Assembly for the first time.

Chatterjee said she decided to apply to the Student Assembly’s programming committee after talking to student leaders at the APHA Policy Action Institute in 2025. Their terms as leaders were expiring, but they encouraged her to get more involved.

Yanit Asamnew, a senior studying at the University of Maryland, said involvement with APHA opens doors to future career opportunities. 

Currently programming committee co-chair, Asamnew began as a member of the Student Assembly but became more involved by interning at APHA after attending her first National Student Assembly meeting.

“I got the internship, but also I met amazing people,” she said. “I met amazing mentors, and I was able to gain a lot of leadership opportunities. It was a bridge for me, so I’m very thankful for APHA.”

Photos: Student members; Yanit Asamnew. Photos courtesy EZ Event Photography.