Degree Program: Global Health and Sustainable Development, M.S. Program
Expected Graduation: December 2024
Clemette graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Health Sciences and is continuing her education in the Global Health and Sustainable Development. One of the reasons she wanted to go into public health is because of its emphasis on the social determinants of health and preventing illness and other negative health outcomes “rather than just treating illness when it happens.” It is extremely important for her to look into the elimination of health disparities so that all people are set up for success and can live healthy and fulfilling lives. Clemette says that one of best decisions she’s ever made was choosing to attend IUPUI (now IU Indianapolis). The Indianapolis area gave her the opportunity to focus of health and wellness and explore different focuses in the medical field. Being a Bepko Scholar taught her a lot about community and the most pressing needs of Indianapolis though volunteerism. Every year, Clemette volunteered in an area that would provide her with a view of her future career, which included food pantries, vaccination clinics, planting trees, cleaning up parks, and more. The Honors College gave her the push to look into more opportunities and find things that could benefit her both professionally and personally. In her time in undergraduate, she completed a global health internship through the LHSI program and was a lead volunteer at Paws Pantry. To Clemette, being a Bepko Fellow means “continuing the expectation of excellence, dedication to service, and an acknowledgement of community, not just from IUPUI [now IU Indianapolis] and the Honors College, but also the surrounding Indianapolis community.”