Have Space and Grace for Everyone: Aishwarya Vishwanath
School: Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Program: Master of Public Health (MPH)
Concentration: Health Systems and Policy
Estimated Graduation Date: December, 2025
Are there any unique or special projects you’re working on?
Right now, I’m working with the Family Health division of PATH’s India Country Program — I’m interning with the team working on the USAID Saksham project. This project is implementing interventions to improve maternal, newborn and child health in three Indian states with the highest need. I’m learning how this is done across different geographies and with so many teams working together!
I’m also in the Institute for Global Tobacco Control’s Ascend program. This is a part-time nine-month-long funded training program by the Institute for Global Tobacco Control (IGTC) at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. It aims to develop and enhance the skills of participants in LMICs with the largest burden of tobacco-caused death and disease. As a part of this program, I got to go to Manila in July for a week-long workshop. I learnt more than I expected to and met so many wonderful young people from other countries like India. We even got to visit the WHO Western Pacific Regional Office.
Why did you choose JHU, and what’s next for you?
When I decided to go to grad school to study public health, I obviously looked at the best schools out there. Since I wanted a practice-focused degree and not a research-focused one, I gravitated towards the CEPH-accredited MPH programs in the United States. Finally, I chose the Bloomberg School at JHU because of how international their faculty, students, and alumni were. A lot of other schools had more of a domestic focus and I figured that wouldn’t be the best fit for me, considering that I’d be working in India or another country that may not be the U.S over the course of my career.
Right now, I’m looking forward to finishing up my MPH by the end of next year and continuing to learn more about public health practice opportunities in India and abroad.
What skills are you learning at Hopkins that will be of value your whole life?
When I read this question, the “skill” that popped into my mind wasn’t something academic at all. It was something I heard Dr. Beth Resnick say in one of my very first classes at Hopkins called The Tools of Public Health Practice. She talked about having space and grace for everybody. Including yourself. Truly understanding that and practicing it helps me move forward on my own journey with hope and without being bogged down by social comparison.
What unique experiences or achievements have shaped your educational journey so far?
Treating patients in dental school in India helped me discover my interests in public health generally and in global health, health systems strengthening, and healthcare management specifically. So, going to dental school is what introduced me to public health and shaped my educational journey greatly.
Are there any professors that have made a lasting impact on you?
Definitely! I must mention Dr. Adam Koon first. He’s been a mentor for the last two years, and I’ve taken three classes with him. His class on the Commercial Determinants of Health opened my eyes to an aspect of public health that’s not talked about enough. I also took a communications class with Brian Klaas and a writing class with Lymari Morales. I learnt so many foundational aspects of written and oral communications and presentation that I’ll probably apply in my personal and professional lives forever. These two classes were exceptionally useful and fun at the same time. Finally, I have to mention Dr. Marie Diener-West and Dr. Karen Bandeen-Roche who teach a daunting subject like Biostatistics with outstanding subject knowledge and, perhaps more importantly, with equally outstanding patience and grace.