Dr. Donna Howard

Campus Celebrity: Dr. Donna Howard, Associate Professor, Department of Behavioral and Community Health, School of Public Health

Every Behavioral and Community Health has taken HLTH130, Introduction to Public Health and encountered the lively personality of Dr. Donna Howard. Every semester, she has grown a number of admirers from her students, including myself. Therefore, I decided to interview Dr. Howard and get to know more about the woman behind the class and why she attracts so many students each semester!

What is your name and your current job title at Maryland?

My name is Dr. Donna Howard and I’m an Associate Professor at the Department of Behavioral and Community Health in the School of Public Health at the University of Maryland.

How did you become interested in Public Health?

I was always interested in issues of social injustice and I took, kind of, a journey into trying to figure out who I was and what I wanted to do with myself and along the way, I found Public Health. It was a real good match for my interests and the things that I believe in.

Tell me something about your family-do you come from an academic or professional family?

Not at all, neither of my parents were college educated. I have an older sister and we were the first to go to college in our family.

Has your family been supportive of your career path?

Uh-uh, I don’t think they always fully understood what my career path was and academically what I was doing in getting a PhD, but they were very supportive of and very proud of me.

Did you ever feel discouraged while you were in school preparing for your professionalism?

Yeah. Well, like you, when I was young as an undergraduate, maybe you or not, I just wasn’t 100% sure what I wanted to do with myself and it took me quite awhile to figure out a profession that seemed to resonate with what my passions were.  I actually left school for awhile and had some work experiences and then I came back and started to figure out what I wanted to do, so sometimes it takes time and you need to be patient with yourself and sometimes you need to go out and work and see what the real world is before you can figure out what you to do professionally.

What research do you focus on in your department?

My research is on adolescence risk and protective behaviors. I have been doing on interpersonal violence, but now my focus is on teen dating relationships, healthy and harmful teen dating relationships.

Did you have a different major or career before Public Health?

I was an undergraduate nutrition major and I actually took an alternative path in pursuit of a focus on nutrition and came across Public Health, Global Public Health and then changed my professional path more toward Public Health rather than nutrition. I have a strong interest in international health as well.

What do you think is/are the biggest health concerns of today?

I choose not to look at them in terms of particular health issues. I think issues of inequities, poverty, ways that different groups of people or disadvantaged in terms of their access to opportunities and are burdened with too many exposures to adversities, creates a dynamic where not everybody has equal opportunity to be successful. I think those are great hindrances to us realizing our potential as Americans and particularly, as part of a global community, so I think issues of poverty and injustices that create uneven opportunity and disadvantages are the biggest issues.

Personally, what do you think is the most rewarding experience working at Maryland?

Well, I really like my students and I really care about teaching. I also enjoy the balance of teaching, mentoring and doing research and being a part of a professional community, so it’s a good balance. It’s pretty challenging, but it’s a good balance.

What advice would you give to a student who wanted your current job or profession?

I think one, be patient with yourself, if it’s not self-evident or completely clear what you want to do with yourself. Be open to new experiences, despite this [Maryland] being a large university, you have to push yourself to introduce yourself to faculty, you need mentors, you should take advantage of all the opportunities here for guest lectures, to volunteer, to participate in programs and allow yourself to explore different options and opportunities and  you don’t have to it all decided, you have everything ahead of you, you can take your time, but be persistent and find the things that really strike you and that you’re passionate about and work towards them and make a contribution, give back.