A changing of the guard: Graduating hosts Lexi, Emma, and Alex talk about what’s next

This week we say goodbye to graduating public health students and podcast hosts Lexi Fahrion, Emma Meador, and Alex Murra. They talk about their experiences and favorite memories and offer advice to potential public health students and podcasters.

Find our previous episodes on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and SoundCloud.

Anya Morozov:

Hello, everyone. Welcome back to From the Front Row, brought to you by the University of Iowa College of Public Health. My name is Anya Morozov, and if this is your first time with us, welcome. We’re a student-run podcast that talks about major issues in public health and how they are relevant to anyone, both in and out of the field of public health. Today, we’re excited to celebrate three of our graduating From the Front Row hosts, Lexi Fahrion, Emma Meador, and Alex Murra. Emma and Alex are graduating with their Master of Public Health in Epidemiology, and Lexi is graduating with her MPH in Community and Behavioral Health. All three have made substantial contributions to this podcast. Thank you for coming on. So for the listeners who are not acquainted with all of you, can you tell us a little bit about your background, why you chose to pursue a graduate degree in public health and why Iowa?

Lexi Fahrion:

Yeah, I can go first. So I’m Lexi, I’m originally from a small town in Illinois. I came to Iowa in 2017 to get my BS in public health, so I’ve been in public health for a while now. And we have this great undergrad grad, 4+1 Program, which really helped push me in the direction of getting a master’s degree, because at the time I didn’t know where I wanted to go with my life, so I was like, “Let’s keep going. Let’s get an extra degree and see if we can find some more passions.”

Emma Meador:

I can go next. So similar to Lexi, we were in the same undergraduate class, actually, getting our BS in public health. So during my time in public health, I didn’t really know what I wanted to do afterwards. I thought about something more in the medical field and then I was like, “You know? I really don’t like blood or needles and I like math.” So like, “Oh, maybe epidemiology would be really good.” And I’ve learned more about it and I was like, “Yeah, that’s really what I see myself doing.” So that’s how I got into the field. My mom also works in public health, so she definitely inspired me. That’s why I did my undergrad in it. The U2G (Undergrad to Grad degree) program was also amazing, which was the reason why I was able to get my master’s so easily.

Alex Murra:

And I guess I’ll finish up. So, I’m Alex, and unlike Lexi and Emma, I didn’t actually do public health for a bachelor’s degree. I went to Iowa and I got my bachelor’s degree in microbiology. And initially when I was an undergrad, I was thinking that I was going to go straight to med school, that route. I really liked clinical care. But when I was working with patients, I had lots of discussions and a lot of times I noticed factors weren’t really related to the clinical treatments that they were having. And then instead I was having conversations about food insecurity or that they couldn’t afford their care or couldn’t even get to the clinic. So I actually took Fundamentals of Public Health, which is an undergraduate class here at the college, and that’s when I started being introduced to social determinants of health and then just the world of public health in general. And so I decided that before I went on with my training later on in life, I really wanted to have a good background in public health first. So came here, got my MPH, and yeah.

Anya Morozov:

Well, thank you all for sharing that. Looking back at your past two years of grad school, what would you say is your favorite memory of grad school?

Lexi Fahrion:

I’ve had a lot of fun throughout grad school and there’s some really mixed memories because the first whole portion of it for, I think all of us, was on Zoom. So different experiences going from Zoom to in-person, but getting to go to the American Public Health Association conference this past fall in Denver was definitely one of my favorite experiences. It was really nice to just hang out with my friends in the program in a different setting and then also get the chance to see lots of public health in practice.

Emma Meador:

Yeah. I would have to agree with Lexi that the APHA conference was a lot of fun. And for everyone, that’ll be here next year, it’ll be in Boston, so everyone should definitely go to that. I know it’s just a great way to be able to meet our classmates because it was really harder our first year, doing everything on Zoom. So I think honestly my favorite memories looking back on my time here was just the times we would be staying up all night studying for exams. I remember especially with Pathology, we would go into the night not knowing anything about the cardiovascular system. We would be studying all night and then the next morning we would just have so much more knowledge. And it was just really encouraging, I guess, to see how much we could learn just with each other, just talking through everything in a short amount of time. But yeah, just being able to spend time with my classmates and getting to know my faculty is definitely my favorite memory.

Alex Murra:

Yeah. For me, I agree with both of you guys, those are great things. And then one of the things for me was, actually, I had the chance to start a new student organization on campus, which was incredibly challenging. But it was really rewarding, especially when we had our first event. We had a fundraiser event for DVIP, which is a domestic violence shelter in Iowa City, and we were able to raise lots of money and get some student interest in the org, which was lots of fun.

Anya Morozov:

So next we’re going to focus specifically on From the Front Row. First, can you all quickly tell us how long you’ve been involved with the podcast?

Lexi Fahrion:

This is my second year with the podcast.

Emma Meador:

And then this is my third year.

Alex Murra:

This is my second year as well.

Anya Morozov:

Okay. So all three of you have been involved for two to three years. What initially drew your interest to be part of the public health podcast?

Lexi Fahrion:

Honestly, for me, when we were in COVID lockdowns, I was just listening to a ton of podcasts all the time. But I also used to work in a research lab where I’d be alone for half the day, so it was just me and other podcasts. And so I just really grew fond of how they can convey information or just be a fun place for people to chat. So when I learned that we had a podcast going on, I knew it was definitely something I wanted to be involved in.

Emma Meador:

So I don’t know if anyone listening is an OG listener, but two, three… Three or four years ago we had Ian Buchta on the podcast. We used to work together at Johnson County Public Health and all the time he would rave about the podcast and just all the fun things he got to do and all the great people he got to meet. And he definitely is the reason why I joined the podcast, because I just wanted to be a part of that. So, if you’re listening, Ian, good job.

Alex Murra:

Yeah. So for me, I also really liked podcasts, I spent a lot of time listening to them. But when I came to the college and I found out we had a podcast, I was really interested because, I don’t know, I really wanted them to learn how to have conversations about public health and how to communicate what was going on in our little research world with everyone else. So I thought this would be a great opportunity to do so. And I checked out some of the episodes that we had had in the past and I was like, “Oh, wow. This is cool. This is something I definitely want to try and do.”

Anya Morozov:

So I’ve gotten to hear you all be part of some pretty interesting podcast episodes and in some cases even host with you, but I’m curious to know what’s your favorite episode that you’ve been a part of and what made it your favorite?

Lexi Fahrion:

A few months ago, I co-hosted an episode with Dr. Rami Boutros over in the College of Medicine. And he’s an expert on child immunization, so we were talking about COVID vaccine hesitancy among parents and families in the area. And I think that probably stuck out as one of my favorites just because it felt like a tangible conversation I could have, kind of like Alex just said, to bring our little research into the world with a really relevant issue going on, and hopefully it swayed some people or provided some good information about COVID vaccines.

Emma Meador:

So mine would definitely have to be… I think it was two, three years ago. It was before COVID began. I was with Ian and we were interviewing Robert Niezgoda, who did some emergency preparedness, and we were talking to him about where he thought COVID could go or just his thoughts on it. And this was my first time really hearing what COVID had the potential to do. I remember him saying that we could have all of our businesses shut down, that we should be stocking up on food, that schools could close. And I remember just being mind-blown and flabbergasted. I’m like, “What? I don’t know if I believe that.” And I actually remember we had to take a five minute break so we could just have a breather because it was so much information coming at us we were not expecting.

Emma Meador:

And then I remember telling my friends about the podcast and, “I think we should maybe be stock up on food. I think COVID has potential to be really bad.” And they’re like, “You need to calm down. That’s not going to happen.” And then everything he had predicted and everything he had told us about happened, plus. And so it was just so interesting to see what public health can do and how we really can predict all these things and all the science we’re doing is worthwhile. And yeah, that was just a really cool memory I have.

Alex Murra:

For me, I actually thought about this pretty hard, because I was like, “Oh, wow. What have I done?” But I think my favorite episode, and this was probably last spring, I did an interview with Dr. Melissa Borja and it was about anti-Asian hate and racism and the spike in COVID. So at the time it was a really big issue, particularly for me and my family. There was a lot of fear in the community as well with a lot of the rhetoric that was going around with COVID and Asian Americans. So it was a great conversation. I liked it because we talked a lot about historical perspective and what we could do moving forward.

Alex Murra:

I’m also really into data disaggregation for variables like race ethnicity. I think the way that we collect race ethnicity is pretty poor. And so we had this conversation about the implications of collecting variables in that way and what it means for health equity and how as biostatisticians or epidemiologists or public health people, we can use data to advance health equity in just a simple way of collecting the variable. I won’t go on because I can go on forever, but it was a really interesting episode and I remember talking to friends and other people about it. And I had people come and telling me like, “I’m really glad you did this episode. It made me feel safe. I learned a lot about it.” So…

Anya Morozov:

Well thank you for, first of all, hosting those episodes. And second of all, giving me some recommendations for episodes I need to go look back at. Next, I’m curious to know how you think the podcast has changed or developed since you first joined on.

Lexi Fahrion:

I think one thing that initially drew me to From The Front Row is how much the students who run it do a good job of responding to things going on in the world. It’s really cool to be a part of something that’s so iterative and, just like I said, responsive to current events. And I think that’s something that’s changed in the fact that we’ve gotten even stronger at it. Alexis Clark has done a great job this year of not only including events going on in our college, but then just current events in the world and in the news, bringing in experts on those topics, and just giving us the space to talk to them. So I think that strength has just evolved since the beginning.

Emma Meador:

Well, I have two. I think one of the biggest changes I’ve seen is just our team grow so much. I remember coming into it, there was three team members maybe, and now there’s just so many individuals and so many voices to be heard, and I just think that’s a beautiful thing. And then my second thing is just it’s been interesting, as this is my third year, with each new leader we have, just how the organization and style changes so much and it’s always been executed so well and we always have such good results. They each just have different ways about leading and being the supervisor. And that’s just been interesting to see.

Alex Murra:

I honestly don’t have too much to add from what you guys said, but I really do think it’s interesting to see everyone and the different perspectives that they bring on. And I feel like the episodes have just… They’re really good, so…

Anya Morozov:

So related to that, have you noticed any personal growth through gaining experience on From The Front Row?

Lexi Fahrion:

I think Alex brought this up earlier, but just getting the opportunity to talk with people. This is taking all of those conversation and listening skills that you’re taught throughout your life and really putting it into practice to make something that’s informative and also entertaining. So I think I’ve grown in that sense, just in my ability to listen and talk with people who I have no prior relationship with. Because usually once I hop on a video call with someone, this is the first time I’m seeing them. So I think that’s been a really cool skill that I’m definitely going to take into my career when I’m just meeting and interacting with new people.

Emma Meador:

So the first thing that comes to mind would have to be being able to think of those transitions between questions, because you don’t want to just be reading off the script, so trying to think of those extra filler words. And that would be the first thing that come to mind, but also just learning how to actively ask and answer questions in a way that is open-ended and can start a conversation.

Alex Murra:

Yeah, I agree with both of you guys. For me, it’s definitely been my growth in skills and being able to have a conversation with a stranger. And then also aside from skills with interviewing people, I’m a lot more comfortable now with being interviewed or just being asked random questions. Maybe it’s because we have this perspective of what it’s like to be on the other side. But yeah, for sure it’s communication skills and growth.

Anya Morozov:

Yeah. As someone who’s just finishing my first year on the podcast, I can say those are all things that I’ve definitely been able to learn and continue to learn as I’m part of this podcast. So now more generally, what advice can you give to students who are interested in pursuing a Master’s of Public Health at Iowa?

Lexi Fahrion:

That’s a super good question. I think advice that I wish I would’ve taken more myself is that it goes by so quickly, so be really intentional about taking all the opportunities that you’re interested in and really curating your own path to fit your needs. Because two years flies by, and if you do it right, you can get everything you want out of it and more. So I would say just appreciate it and take the opportunities you’re given.

Emma Meador:

I think one of the most worthwhile things I’ve done is really getting to know both my classmates and my faculty. Something about Iowa is just that the faculty, they always want to have more engagement and interaction with their students. And if you just go up and talk to them, there’s probably something you can help them with, whether that’s research or a class or… They just always have so much guidance and perspective. I really appreciated getting to know all of my professors. And then also just with classmates, it helps so much being able to have people to talk to about your classes and homework and the people you see every day and just being able to build those relationships. And it’s kind of like networking too, but I know some of my friendships I’ve made here in the MPH program, I’ll probably have the rest of my life. So I would really just go out of your way to get to make those relationships.

Alex Murra:

One of the pieces of advice that was actually given to me, it was in one of our orientation sessions, but I had a second year student tell me, “You have to really be super proactive.” And this goes along with what Lexi said, time goes by so quickly. And I think that sometimes you get these emails and it’ll have all these different opportunities, but you’re like, “Oh, well. I’m super busy right now, so maybe I’m not going to take that on.” Or, “I still have two years, so I don’t really need to do that right now.” But my advice is really search for those opportunities, apply for things that maybe you don’t feel like you’re 100% qualified for, you think that might be a little bit of a reach job, but I think all of us are a lot more capable of way more than we really think we are. So a lot of times, even if you think you’re underqualified for a research position, chances are you’re probably not and you’re probably like… That imposter syndrome’s probably just kicking in. But yeah.

Anya Morozov:

Yeah. I agree. Imposter syndrome is real, but if you just apply for things and let other people tell you, “No,” rather than telling yourself, “No,” beforehand, that can be really helpful. So more specifically, do you have any advice for future From The Front Row team members who might be listening?

Lexi Fahrion:

I’m going to steal part of Alex’s answer for this one because I think when I first started, I didn’t interview with some people that I thought that I didn’t have an educational relationship with. Like, “Oh, maybe I’m not super proficient in, I don’t know, environmental health, so maybe I’ll turn down that interview.” But as I went through the podcast, I started taking on more and more interviews that didn’t feel like completely in my “realm.” And I would say, just take any interview that you’re interested in. You don’t have to have any qualifications to talk to somebody, you just have to be able to hold a conversation and just have interesting dialogue with those folks. So don’t restrict yourself to posts that you think are in your field.

Emma Meador:

Yeah, I think that was a great point Lexi brought up, I really liked that. Also, something that really helped me was being able to research our interviewees before the interview and just making sure that we can really understand what their research is, what they teach, what their passions are, so you can really ask those engaging questions that can spark those really good conversations.

Alex Murra:

I think that’s all great advice. One thing too for me is I always felt like interviews turned out better in the end if I had a co-host, so get a co-host if you can. Just because there’s more ideas, different types of styles. And sometimes an interviewer says something and you’re like, “Oh, wow. That’s really good, but I’m not sure what kind of follow-up question to ask,” and then a co-host can come on and really be there to support you. And the other thing I would say too is don’t be afraid to maybe do an episode topic that is a little more obscure that maybe you’re super interested in. Sometimes I think we’re trying to hit these really big generalized topics in public health, but sometimes I found the most interesting episodes are the ones that are super specific and, as a listener, you learn about something that you’ve never really thought about before too.

Anya Morozov:

Yeah. Sometimes those niche episodes can be really cool. So next I’ll ask our favorite question on From The Front Row. What is one thing you thought you knew but were later wrong about?

Lexi Fahrion:

Yeah. So I’ve spent a while asking people this question, it’s weird to get it turned back onto us. I think going back to something I said earlier that I thought this master’s program was going to really narrow down my path and I was going to come out of it saying, “I know exactly what I want to do leaving grad school.” But I was absolutely wrong about that and I am okay with it. I’m very glad that I have really broad interests and plan to use that to my advantage throughout my career. So I would just say that don’t force yourself into a corner if that’s not something that’s natural to you. So just let your pathway out how it goes.

Emma Meador:

So mine is kind of generalized to the field of epidemiology. The going into the field, I thought it was more just how you go about research and looking at disease trends and such, but it’s so much more computer science and biostatistics than I had thought. And through time I have learned to love R and SAS, but it was definitely adjustment at first. I’m like, “Wow, this is a lot of coding.” Yep. So that is one thing I was wrong about, but it’s all good now.

Alex Murra:

Emma, that made laugh because honestly that was one of the things that I was… I don’t know. I always found about epi is exposure management. Maybe that was from my undergrad background. But so for me, actually, it’s just maybe about generalized grad school type things. When I came into grad school, I thought it was going to be… For one thing, I thought it was going to take forever. I also thought that I would figure out exactly what I wanted to do afterwards. And I also thought it was going to be incredibly, incredibly hard. And I just thought it was going to be a miserable time.

Alex Murra:

Maybe it was because some of the grad students I had talked to in undergrad always talked about grad school just being terrible, you know? But anyway, I was so pleasantly surprised. Grad school is really fun in some aspects. I mean, don’t get me wrong, it’s hard. I mean, you learn a lot, but you get exposed to lots of different ideas, lots of lovely people. It goes by super quick. Sometimes I feel like we just started last fall. That’s crazy to think that we’re going to be done in a week. Yeah. It’s bittersweet, but lots of things that I’ve learned. I learned I’m wrong about things more often than I am right.

Anya Morozov:

Well, you’re very right in saying that this is bittersweet. Thank you all for taking time out of this last week of classes to be interviewed. And I’ll just say that over the past year, I’ve gotten to see all three of your contributions, not only to the podcast, but also your involvement across the College of Public Health. And honestly, you’re all super great role models. So thank you for that. And while I’m very sad to see you all go, I’m also really excited to see where you all go next.

Lexi Fahrion:

Yeah. Thank you for doing this.

Alex Murra:

Thank you so much.

Emma Meador:

Yeah. Thank you.

Anya Morozov:

That’s it for our episode this week. Big thanks to Alex, Emma, and Lexi for coming on with us today. This episode was written by Alexis Clark and hosted, edited, and produced by me, Anya Morozov. You can learn more about the University of Iowa College of Public Health on Facebook. Our podcast is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and SoundCloud. If you enjoyed this episode and would like to help support the podcast, please share it with your colleagues, friends, or anyone interested in public health. Our team can be reached at cph-gradambassador@uiowa.edu. This episode was brought to you by the University of Iowa College of Public Health. Until next week, stay healthy, stay curious, and take care.