Monelli Esfandiary, College of Health (COH) senior, can be found everywhere in the Health, Science, and Technology (HST) building, home to the COH. She’s so ingrained in its fabric that she carries it with her, to the point where it might have a haunting effect. “I can see it looming overhead from where I live,” Esfandiary said with a chuckle.
The HST building has a presence so large that it’s often synonymous with the College of Health itself. In its fifth year of establishment on Lehigh’s campus, the College of Health is known for its entrepreneurial spirit. It’s a space that invites students to jumpstart their own discoveries and use innovation and ingenuity to strive for success. It’s welcoming, vibrant, and ambitious– just like Esfandiary. Throughout her four years as a Population Health major, she has become an integral part of the community: “I’m connected to so much here and I guess, they’re connected to me.”
Her work started with one person: Assistant Professor of Biostatistics and Health Science, Tom McAndrew. “Professor McAndrew completely did a 360 with how I wanted to pursue my degree” Esfandiary said. She began enrolling in as many biostatistics courses as she could, discovering an invigorating passion that she wanted to share with others. Esfandiary’s classes with McAndrew laid the foundation for the Biostatistics and Health Data Science major, highlighting the importance of student and faculty collaboration. Her interest in the subject led to tighter connections with both McAndrew and classmates: “We’d all meet at that white board and be doing homework together; that was a community.”
A year later, she was working alongside McAndrew to “develop weekly flu forecasts, with the destabilization of COVID as well and how that affected the flu outbreaks in the area,” She traveled to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists (CSTE) research conference in Atlanta, Georgia, where she was the only undergraduate student at the event, to present her findings for the Pennsylvania Department of Health. Now, her research with McAndrew is based on predicting the flu season before it happens.
Despite her deep connection to the College of Health, for Esfandiary, the path to Lehigh wasn’t always clear. “I didn’t think I would love it as much as I do,” she said, “My parents went to school in Iran. They are immigrants, and it was really difficult.” Hailing from outside Washington, D.C. herself, Lehigh got on Esfandiary’s radar, and the College of Health that was established one year earlier was something she couldn’t ignore. When she arrived on campus, she fully understood the opportunity and impact she could make: “Being here meant a lot to me. I needed to make my presence known.”
As President, Esfandiary led an effort to reassess and reorganize the Student Advisory Council (SAC) to ensure it served the current needs of the students and COH. She rallied over 40 fellow students, establishing a productive, collaborative environment for flourishing health leaders. Broken into three committees: academic excellence; diversity, equity and inclusion; and higher education, the SAC serves to share knowledge and resources. At last semester’s professor panel, seven faculty members discussed their research and personal backgrounds. Over sixty students attended, from across all colleges. Esfandiary also works in marketing for the College of Health, forming an invaluable partnership between students and administration.
Her advice to younger students? “Go do it! What can we do here? How can we make this better?” Esfandiary is no stranger to struggle, and learning how to overcome. Last year, she leaned on her community more than ever, after a tragic loss.“It appeared to me how much I love to be here, and connect with people, and be involved in SAC. It still is really hard, but I love making a purpose of what I’m doing everyday,” she said.
It couldn’t be more clear that Esfandiary has poured her heart into the College of Health and everyone in it. After graduation, she will begin working at Guidehouse consulting firm in their Health and Human Services segment. “I’m really proud of where I am right now, and I have to fly!” Esfandiary exclaimed.
She is a Mountainhawk, and she will fly.
