College, Department or UnitCollege, Department or Unit
"I began as an Early Childhood Education major at Illinois State University. During my sophomore year I realized I did not want to stay in that major. I began taking General Education courses in different majors. I took the Environmental Health in the 21st Century course and found it very interesting. It gave a broad overview of the field. I researched the classes I would be taking in the major on the Web site and also discussed the program with the academic advisor. I thought the required science courses would be difficult. I didn't do a lot of research on the professions available with this major. So I started the program not knowing what to expect."
"The science courses were hard for me. However, I found the major courses very interesting and challenging but not overly difficult if you work hard. I know all of my professors very well. I have learned that there are limitless opportunities in the environmental health field. I became involved with the Student Environmental Health Association (SEHA) very soon after starting the major. I served on a committee for a year and then became an officer this past year. I have found the experience to be rewarding. We work on special projects that will benefit students and the community. One of the research projects I have had the fortune of working on was a result of having a guest speaker from the Energy Management Office at Illinois State. His presentation focused on energy conservation ideas students on campus could do. We started a committee and worked on the top idea that focused on ways to conserve energy on campus by turning off computers when not in use. We researched 'sleep mode' functions with various computers and other ways students and faculty could save energy used by computers. Our research was accepted and presented at Illinois State's Undergraduate Research Symposium. We also won an award for our project from the National Environmental Health Association which will publish our work and allow us to present at their national conference in Reno, Nevada."
"My experience in the Environmental Health program has allowed me to pursue work with the Peace Corps in epidemiology and pollution prevention. I hope to eventually get a Masters degree focusing on epidemiology."
"I have found that Illinois State University is what you make of it. There is a lot of opportunity socially and academically. But if you don't take advantage of those opportunities, things won't happen for you. If you take advantage of these things, you will enjoy your years here!"
" I first came to Illinois State University as a Computer Science major. By my sophomore year, I realized I did not enjoy computer programming as much I thought I would. I began looking at other majors at Illinois State because I really wanted to stay here. After looking at web sites for various majors, I discovered the Environmental Health major. Initially I thought it was a major that was more in the conservation area. I enjoy the outdoors, hunting and fishing and thought that this was the right thing for me. Once I started the major, I realized that it was different than my expectations. It was a major that was much more than conservation. The profession is about helping people stay healthy in their everyday environment. It is problem solving and more practical than I expected which I found to be very interesting."
"The faculty are great! The program is small and that makes it very personal. This allows the faculty to know you much better than in a very large program. I like the specific coursework that is offered. One of the things I really enjoyed was a real life Indoor Air Quality problem we worked on in our Air Quality class. A pre-school in the community was experiencing some problems and contacted our professor to see if we could help them. It was a class project where we were able to work on a real life problem and apply all the things we learned in the classroom. It taught me some very good technical things as well as good team building skills."
"I like the Quad setting. Classes are all close to the Quad and you can enjoy a nice environment between classes. My career goals are still open. My internship has opened opportunities in other career areas that I had not thought about. It is an exciting time for me!"
