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Maternal and Child Health Program Hosts 10th Annual MCH Career Networking Event

quote from mch student

February 16, 2024

Earlier this week, the Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Catalyst Program at the Dornsife School of Public Health hosted its 10th annual MCH Career Networking Event.

This yearly event offers current Dornsife students—especially those taking classes toward a Maternal and Child Health minor—the chance to network with MCH professionals, including alumni and former MCH trainees, and learn more about different opportunities and diverse careers in the MCH field.

This year, 18 professionals from 15 organizations, including seven Dornsife alumni, five of whom were former MCH trainees, attended the event and shared with students the depth and breadth of MCH career paths.

The career event was hosted virtually to allow for more professionals and online students, including those in Drexel’s online MCH Certificate Program, to attend.

During the event, students were put into small groups and rotated through their choice of four breakout rooms. Students had the opportunity to meet with professionals throughout the evening and connect in an engaging and personal way.

Both students and professionals find this annual event to be incredibly valuable.

Professionals benefit from meeting students with a strong interest in MCH who could be great additions to projects or potential new hires in the future. For professionals, highlights of the event included meeting students and hearing about their interests in MCH, answering questions and serving as mentors, and interacting with other MCH colleagues.

"As an early career professional, I loved that I got to interact with students who are experiencing similar situations that I was just a short time ago. I appreciated that interacting with them shed light on their interests and challenged me to think about the scope of my role," said one Dornsife alum.

"I'm nearing graduation next month and was really excited to be able to hear from professionals working in the MCH space, [especially] professionals working at different levels of government." - MCH Trainee/Online MPH Student

Highlights for students include exploring career paths within MCH, networking with MCH professionals informally, and learning about MCH organizations in the region.

Students enjoyed the small group interaction with professionals in MCH and the opportunity to learn about their background and career journeys. They appreciated their genuine interest in taking the time to mentor students and their transparency regarding their experiences and challenges in navigating their MCH career journeys.

They also enjoyed speaking with former MCH trainees and learning how they transitioned from Dornsife into careers in MCH. “This was definitely a highlight from my time at Drexel!” said one student.

Other students emphasized the unique opportunity this event provides students to meet with professionals from a wide array of MCH backgrounds, including clinical, community, and state and local government.

"I'm nearing graduation next month and was really excited to be able to hear from professionals working in the MCH space. I was really interested in hearing the roles of professionals working at different levels of government," said an online MPH student who was happy to have this synchronous opportunity for networking.

Organizations represented at the event included:

  • Bureau of Family Health, Pennsylvania Department of Health
  • Division of Maternal, Child and Family Health, Philadelphia Department of Public Health
  • PA Medical Home Program, PA Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics
  • Maternity Care Coalition
  • Access Matters
  • Philadelphia WIC
  • Children First
  • Delaware County Board of Health
  • Partnership for MCH of Northern NJ
  • Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia PolicyLab
  • St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children, Adolescent Medicine
  • Penn clinical research
  • National Nurse-Led Care Consortium
  • DC Department of Health
  • Dornsife MCH Academia/Research

Learn more about Dornsife's MCH program and upcoming MCH events.

Dornsife's Maternal and Child Health Program is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by HRSA, HHS, or the U.S. Government. For more information, please visit HRSA.gov.