Student Spotlight: Maryn Justice White, MPH’26

Evening the Playing Field for Health Outcomes 

An affinity for public health has been a common thread in Maryn White’s life. 

The Kansas City, MO native’s first encounter with public health began when she participated in an epidemiology camp at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  

As a college student, she majored in public health and minored in anthropology, learning how the cultural and social aspects of human behavior affect public health in a changing world.“From the perspective of anthropology, I learned how health disparities are created and how important that understanding is for everyone’s health,” White says. 

She has lobbied on Capitol Hill for healthcare on behalf of the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation and works for a national urban planning and law firm where she sees the effects of city zoning on public health policy.  

“I selected the hybrid MPH program because it allows me to remain in my community while in the program and continue my work,” she explains. “I’m able to apply what I’m learning in my classes to continue reducing disparities in my community by contributing incentive-based health opportunities to underserved populations, such as providing people with the opportunity to receive vaccinations, STD tests, participate in community-wide surveys, and receive compensation for personal needs.”  

White says the program has exceeded her expectations. “I knew I would be receiving a world-class education focused on health policy, which is the reason I chose the program, but I am impressed by how invested my teachers are, not only in our academic success but in our personal lives as well. They want us to excel.” 

Because her fellow students come from a variety of backgrounds and experiences, she views Dartmouth’s collaborative environment essential to that success, including the flourishing friendships between both her fellow hybrid and residential students. 

She appreciates her peers’ different backgrounds and experiences and that everyone is encouraged to bring those experiences into the classroom to learn from each other. White, for example, brings experience in policy, lobbying, community-based health programs, and an interest in urban planning.

“The program equips us with what we need to make changes related to our specific healthcare interests but demonstrates we can all work together to make those changes,” she says. “These tools will help me to make change in my local community in ways that the city may not have thought of but that I’ve learned here. 

“I aspire to be a Dartmouth pine that changes time.” 

Her advice to prospective students:

“Seek out opportunities and take advantage of any that come your way because Dartmouth has so many amazing people who are invested in students—meet them, go to office hours, and try to learn as much as you can from them because they are amazing mentors.” 

Written by: Susan Green

POSTED 10/29/2024 AT 02:57 PM IN ##studentspotlight ##mph ##2025