Kelsey Granger was a student at USC Union from 2014 until 2016, then she transitioned into Palmetto College. She graduated with her Associate of Science and Associate of Arts in 2016. In 2019, Kelsey graduated with Bachelor of Liberal Studies from Palmetto College where she majored in Biology and Health Promotion. She completed her BLS on the USC Union campus.
After graduating, she continued her education by completing Master of Health Science in Environmental Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in May of 2022. She also completed certificates in Risk Sciences & Public Policy and Environmental & Occupational Health at JHSPH.
Kelsey is currently a Specialist, Environmental Health at the Association of Public Health Laboratories and where she will be primarily working on their Opioids Biosurveillance Task Force. Prior to this, she worked as the Sr. Lab Coordinator for the Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering Department in the Johns Hopkins University’s Whiting School of Engineering, and as an Administrative Lab Technician in the Johns Hopkins Hospital’s department of Dermatopathology and Oral Pathology.
She was involved in the African American Association, Gardening Club, the Graduation with Leadership Distinction program, and was a founding member of the Research Club at USC Union. She worked on research with Dr. Randy Lowell in the PALM Lab, Dr. Lee Morris, and Dr. Maggie Aziz. She also worked in the Student Academic Success Center for several years.
Kelsey says, “USC Union is home! I miss it all the time. I felt so welcome on campus and valued as a student and intellectual. The relationships I built with my mentors, the faculty and staff, and other students are extremely important to me, and they’ve given me such a strong support system for every endeavor I’ve taken on both at USC Union and after. If you’re an incoming student, I’m jealous of you – I wish I could do it all over again!”
She continued by saying, “USC Union prepared me in more ways than I probably even realize. While I was at USC Union, I was able to harness skills in public speaking, writing, and research (just to name a few). I developed as a professional – I learned how to conduct myself in a manner that was respectful, warm, adaptable, and capable. I also learned that it’s okay to ask for help! There were plenty of times where I felt clueless or like I needed a lot more clarification, and the staff and faculty at USC Union never made me feel like any question was silly. That’s a skill worth learning as there will continue to be times throughout your career where you feel like you have no idea what’s going on.”
When asked if she had any advice for current or prospective students, she said, “Take full advantage of the campus and its offerings! USC Union may seem small, but it provides you with so many amazing opportunities. If you find an opportunity, whether it’s research, a club, or another way to get involved, seriously consider taking it! When I transitioned to a school as large as JHU, my classes were larger, and I was not able to receive as much individualized attention. I’ll also say that you should do plenty of things you might not really want to do – things that seem intimidating. I was terrified of public speaking prior to USC Union, but thanks to my mentors I was able to get over that fear through being consistently challenged while speaking at conferences and other presentations. That turned out to be beneficial, because I’ve had to do plenty of public speaking since leaving USC Union!”
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