Name: Giselle Monette
What other AHEC programs have you participated in? Wisconsin Express
What’s your hometown? Madison,, Wisconsin
What school are you attending? UW-Madison
What is your intended profession/what’s your major? Community & Environmental Sociology
Why do you want to be a health professional? Why is it important to you? There are a lot of health disparities experienced by people in my community and a lack of culturally comprehensive and accessible care, I want to be apart of the solution. I also want to be a reason that people in my community are excited about receiving healthcare and being healthy overall.
Where is your Community Health Internship Program (CHIP) host site? Ho-Chunk Community Health Department, Black River Falls, WI
Why did you want to participate in CHIP? I wanted to gain experience in different areas of the health field so I could narrow down my future job aspirations and goals.
What's something you hope to learn/have learned that will impact your future work? I've mostly noticed that there are a lot of opportunities to update the way we approach public health and the way we talk about what it means to be healthy.
What are you most looking forward to/what has been your favorite part so far? Being in a tribal community. I usually would spend a large part of my summers in my own tribal community but I needed to spend this summer gaining experience for grad school. It has been such a huge blessing to still be around other Native people. It helps with the homesickness.
What advice would you give to younger students who are interested in working in public health? Just do it!! There are so many different aspects to health and it's a must that there are passionate people working in all facets of the field