Student Experiences

Mia Durkin ’23

Health and Society Major

Mia Durkin '23 I originally was a Health and Exercise Physiology major, and I took a Public Health class that immediately piqued my interest. After talking with faculty, I found out about a new major called Health & Society that was becoming available that would allow me to explore population health issues I found interesting. I chose Health & Society because it allowed me to be able to look at public health through many different lenses such as psychology, anthropology and sociology, in addition to a biomedical perspective. After Ursinus, I would like a career where I can make a difference in achieving important societal health goals, such as reducing opioid overdoses, or improving the appalling maternal health outcomes in this country.


Nethmi Sasthrika Ediriweera ’25

Health and Society major with double minors in Sociology and International Relations

Nethmi Sasthrika Ediriweera '25 I made the decision to major in Health and Society because I am interested in learning about the health disparities that exist in our society. Through my public and global health classes, I learned that the lack of access to adequate health care has developed into a major problem and it is the cause of the rising mortality rates in many countries. I want to help people both locally and globally to gain access to health care. I want to assist the community in overcoming barriers like socioeconomic status and discrimination in order to exercise their legal entitlement to medical care. After graduating from Ursinus, I hope to get a master’s degree in public health and work as a public health administrator, where I can make changes to the system that exist today.


Devon Kimbel ’23

Health and Society major

Devon Kimbel I started at Ursinus with an interest in biology and chemistry and could see a potential future working in a lab setting. After taking some courses related to sociology, I realized I was more interested in public health related issues than lab research. I met with my advisor to find out more information on the Health and Society major after hearing about it. It seemed to be a perfect fit and aligned more with my interests related to current health issues and trends. Taking a deeper dive into the courses, I realized how many of the topics have struck me deeply and opened my eyes to current day issues including access to mental health and drug rehabilitation services. In the future I plan to obtain my MS in Public Health. My focus will be on advocating for change in the mental health and drug rehabilitation landscape and to serve my community with better and more inclusive health policies.