Ben Jansen ’24 — Working at the Noble County Health Department, I have been given a hodge-podge of tasks to complete with my time here. All these tasks have been interesting to me because they are new experiences, meaning I am learning a lot. First, I was tasked with data analytics. I oversaw researching the county’s number of COVID cases by location, demographic, and time. In the process, I made a helpful video to visualize the spread of COVID-19 around the county throughout the pandemic. Next, I was tasked with marketing. I had to work on updating billboards and other signage around the county to advertise vaccines. Along the same lines, I oversaw the development of the department’s Facebook page from almost the ground up. Now our Facebook is on a routine posting schedule and has been influential in gaining interest in mobile vaccine clinics that we have held. Finally, I have been tasked with aiding in our COVID-19 vaccine clinics. Tasks for this include planning, setting up, and running these clinics all around the county. We have only had one of the four planned clinics, but we had a great turnout at this event so it will be exciting to see how many more people we can help throughout the county.
One special experience that I had was the other day. The health department threw together a celebration for all the volunteers that helped at the vaccine clinic since January of this year. For this event, I oversaw the planning of some logistics, making certificates, making a thank you video to the volunteers, setting up, and serving the volunteers while there. This event was a great success. It was heartwarming to be able to give back to all the citizens of Noble County who have given so much of their time to help others.
Overall, I have learned a lot. I not only have learned about data analytics, marketing, or event planning, but about the importance of public health and how the county works to
improve upon this every day. From food inspections to vaccine clinics, all the workings in the health department are to better serve the residents where I live. Every day I am happy to learn about how our county is taking measures to be safe and aid in the process. As a person who was not originally well versed in marketing or event planning, I realized from this internship that anyone can practice public health at a level well enough to protect others.
