Kawanda Foster (back row, sixth from left)and college friends participated in the National Gandhi Day of Service. Students across the nation engaged in service projects in their communities for impact and inspiration. Foster's team is wearing a t-shirt that promoted Mahatma Gandhi's belief for community service:  "Be the change you wish to see in the world."

Kawanda Amy Foster is a native of south Florida and received her undergraduate degree in biology with a minor in chemistry and English from the University of Miami.

Not too far from home, Foster is now completing her final year at Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University and will complete her Master of Public Health in epidemiology in May 2013.

Foster said she owes her passion for public health to an undergraduate professor and mentor who planted the seed of using public health to change and improve the lives of others and the surrounding community.

"An Africana studies course titled Race and Healthcare initially exposed me to public health," said Foster. "I discovered my interest in the field and my passion for the issues. The professor who taught the course had an M.P.H. and soon after became my mentor. The rest is history, and now I'm at Rollins and I absolutely love it!"

Kawanda Foster (third from the left) and friends supported Relay for Life, by celebrating survivors and loved ones lost and fighting back against cancer.

Foster brought that same thirst for knowledge and enthusiasm to make a difference to the Georgia Department of Public Health's (DPH) District 4 (LaGrange), where she served as an intern. While there, Foster realized that her career blossomed even more in the field.

"I think that one of the best parts of my internship experience was receiving the confirmation of my interests in infectious diseases and health disparities," said Foster. "The majority of my work with DPH's District 4 involved performing case investigations for Shigella, malaria, Hepatitis, Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain spotted fever."

Kawanda Foster stays active and healthy by enjoying water sports. "I am from Florida so I love doing different activities that involve the ocean," said Foster.

DPH's internship offered her an opportunity to sharpen her skills and gain invaluable insight into how to engage the community in public health. While in the LaGrange community, Foster observed health disparities that renewed her commitment to find solutions to serve people from all socioeconomic and ethnic groups.

"Health disparities affecting African-Americans and women are really important to me. I hope to engage in important work that benefits those groups," said Foster.

Foster believes that awareness and education regarding local health disparities can change perceptions and garner more support for public health funds for intervention and prevention. With this shift, she hopes to address and fix entirely health disparities among African-American women and minorities in general.

District 4 was Foster's first official internship. However, during her first year in Rollin's M.P.H. program, she worked as a research assistant at Emory University and as a laboratory assistant at the CDC. She was part of E.P.I.C.O.R.E (Emory Program in Cardiovascular Outcomes Research and Epidemiology) and was responsible for data collection and entry and got to observe how a research group functioned.

"At the CDC, I worked in a lab in the parasitic diseases branch," described Foster. "We conducted several different tests on various strains of the Chagas (parasite) to determine its behavior and ability to grow in certain environments. Our main objectives were to contribute to the wealth of knowledge about Chagas disease and to provide tissue donor banks with the necessary information so that they can make decisions on how to screen their organs for Chagas that will be transplanted."

Although she loves her deep Floridian roots and Ibis mascot, she is open to giving up the sandy white beaches for the red clay hills of Georgia. Foster is optimistic about a future in Georgia with DPH or CDC.

"I would love to stay in Georgia," she said. "Georgia has been a great experience for me. This is an awesome place to do public health work and to make a difference. After I graduate with my M.P.H., I hope to obtain a fellowship in infectious diseases at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or a position as an epidemiologist with the Georgia Department of Public Health."

-Story by Connie F. Smith, DPH Communications