Congratulations to CHER/SHERC spring 2023 graduates!
The Center for Health Equity Research and the Southwest Health Equity Research Collaborative congratulate spring 2023 graduates who each assisted on a variety of CHER and SHERC projects.
Graduates include: Jayme Biakeddy, Carolyn “Carly” Camplain, Jennifer Ashleigh Hudson, Alexandra Olin, Travis Pinn and Shreya Balasubramanya Raju.
We are proud of all of their hard work and wish them all the best in their futures. Please read their bios below for more information about them.
Jayme Biakeddy
Tribal Affiliation: Dine (Navajo)
Hometown: Ft. Defiance, AZ
Program of Study: Master of Public Health, Health Promotion-Indigenous Health
What do you hope to do in the future through your program? This program has provided me with hands-on experience in working with Indigenous and underserved communities. I hope to work with Indigenous communities to bring awareness to health inequities through community-based participatory research.
I would like to thank my family, friends, and my cohort for their unconditional support and love throughout the program. Thank you to my mentors Dr. Nicolette Teufel-Shone and Dr. Samantha Sabo for their encouragement, guidance, and research opportunities they provided me throughout the program.
Carolyn (Carly) Camplain
Tribal Affiliation: Comanche
Hometown: Grants, NM
Program of study: Interdisciplinary Health PhD
What do you hope to do in the future through your program? My next step is as an assistant professor at Lehigh University’s College of Health and Institute on Indigenous Studies. My research and teaching interests include health law and policy, tribal health, tribal and sovereign law and policy, incarceration, tribal jails, and legal epidemiology. I hope to bridge the gap between science and law, especially to benefit the health and well-being of Indigenous and incarcerated populations.
I wouldn’t have been able to accomplish so much without my sister, Ricky Camplain, PhD; my advisor, Julie Baldwin, PhD; my dissertation committee, Luis Fernandez, PhD, Aila Hoss, JD, and Joe Mihaljevic, PhD; my entire CHER family; and my mom, dad, and closest friends. I am forever grateful for all of the love and support I’ve had over the years at NAU. Urako!
Jennifer Ashleigh Hudson
Tribal Affiliation: Navajo
Hometown: Gallup, NM
Program of study: Master of Public Health – Health Promotion, Indigenous Health Track
What do you hope to do in the future through your program? After graduation, I hope to continue working alongside Indigenous communities to achieve health equity, especially in terms of health disparities research. My public health experience with NAU, through both my Bachelors and Masters programs, have provided me with an incredible amount of experience and education regarding this matter and I hope to expand on it further, with the hopes to one day attain a PhD.
None of this would have been possible without the incredible support system I’ve been lucky to have been accepted into and grow upon. Dr. Dirk de Heer, Dr. Samantha Sabo, Dr. Nicolette Teufel-Shone, and Dr. Regina Eddie are just some of the amazing academic and research mentors I have been lucky to work alongside and learn from. I’ve also been blessed to have previous MPH students and my current MPH cohort to turn to when this journey felt impossible and I am tremendously grateful to have fostered such genuine professional and personal relationships that I hope to continue as we all enter the public health workforce. Finally, I’d of course like to thank all of my family and friends who have supported me throughout this journey. You all have in your own way been my biggest supporters as I achieve my dreams and try to make a positive difference in the health of our Indigenous people. Ahéhee’!
Alexandra Olin
Hometown: Yuma, AZ
Program of Study: Bachelor of Science in Health Sciences- Public Health
What do you hope to do in the future through your program? After graduating with my BS in Public Health, I will be joining the Master’s of Public Health Program at NAU. In pursuing my MPH, I hope to leverage my education and skills to promote sexual and reproductive health equity in underserved communities. I aim to advance comprehensive and inclusive healthcare, address health disparities, and empower individuals to make informed decisions about their health and well-being.
I am incredibly grateful for the support and encouragement I have received these past four years! I would like to thank my family, friends, professors, and colleagues at SHERC CEC and the Coconino County Photovoice Project who have helped me reach this important milestone. I am excited for what is to come!
Travis Pinn
Hometown: Vancouver, Washington
Program of Study: Interdisciplinary Health PhD Program, Health Equity emphasis
I am one of the great-grandchildren of Lucy Charles Pinn-Power, a First Nations Mi’kmaw woman from Clare, Nova Scotia, Canada. She valued education in our family and I know she would’ve been proud that I got this far with mine.
In the future, I hope that I can build from the research I have done through the program to address health equity concerns in the context of criminal justice. I am grateful for the support I received from folks at CHER and I look forward to maintaining those connections in the future.
Learning from my committee, Dr. Ricky Camplain, Dr. Julie Baldwin, Dr. Sara Shuman, and Dr. Heather Williamson, has been a valuable experience and one that I will cherish. Thank you to them for their encouragement through the program, which gave me the confidence to see it through. I am grateful to Dr. Ora Marek-Martinez and Dr. Lisa Hardy. Without their support through my Master’s program, I would not have made it this far in my education. I am thankful to my wife, Shonri Begay, who is my best friend and who I am blessed to know and love.
Shreya Balasubramanya Raju
Hometown: Bangalore, India
Program of study: Masters in Computer Science
What do you hope to do in the future through your program? As a computer science graduate student with a strong background in data analytics and a passion for leveraging data to make a positive impact, I hope to use my skills and knowledge to drive meaningful change in the field of data analytics. Specifically, I aspire to work in a healthcare-related setting as a data analyst, leveraging my technical skills and analytical mindset to improve healthcare outcomes and ultimately help people. Through my graduate program, I am gaining a deep understanding of cutting-edge tools and techniques in data analytics, and I am constantly seeking out opportunities to apply my skills in real-world settings. I am confident that with my education, experience, and passion, I can make a valuable contribution to the field of data analytics and help improve healthcare outcomes for individuals and communities.