Student Experiential Learning: Meet Cheryl Qin

Cheryl Qin ’23 is part of the first graduating class of the College of Health (COH). A double major in community & global health and psychology, with a minor in marketing, Qin applied her studies to a real-world environment through a summer internship with the Pennsylvania Department of Health’s Department of Health Equity. Qin, who is originally from West Chester, PA, was able to receive academic credit from the COH from this internship.

The cornerstone of Qin’s internship was putting together an anchor project, an intensive research project which she presented to the Department of Health Equity team.

“Last summer, my anchor project focused on obesity rates in Lehigh County, actually because we have a very high rate of obesity here; it’s around 37%,” Qin said. “Then I looked at a variety of other counties to see what sorts of interventions they had. I made some recommendations for what Lehigh County could do based off of that.”

Qin found it “really cool” to be able to work for a government agency and see how it functioned. In addition to her anchor project, Qin had the opportunity to work with a few other departments within the Office of Health Equity; for example, she worked with their community health organizers program. She also helped with things like invitations, presentations, and webinars.

Qin’s internship with the Department of Health Equity has been so positive that she is back with them again this spring for a second internship/experiential learning activity.

Qin joined the COH as a rising junior and is “just so happy that I got to be a part of the College of Health,” she said. “There are so many different opportunities to get involved; it’s a very active learning environment.”