Shana Johnson - Public Policy and Public Health
After graduating in 2012, Shana went on to New York University to pursue her Master’s in Public Health. During her time at NYU she has studied abroad at the University of Cape Town in South Africa. There she was able to see firsthand the obesity crisis and understand the development of the crisis in a clearer sense. In May of 2014 Shana graduated with her Masters in Public Health with a concentration in Nutrition from the Global Institute of Public Health. This summer she will be traveling to Peru to work with a nonprofit organization to focus on child health and development. Shana writes: The flexibility within the ISF major allowed me to explore different specializations within the public health field during my undergraduate career so that I was able to focus during my graduate career which will support my working career.
Shana completed her thesis paper on the growing obesity epidemic in the United States and South Africa. Over the past 30 years the US has seen a major increase in obesity nationwide. Similarly, South Africa is one of the wealthiest countries in Africa and has been experiencing a vast increase in obesity within the last decade. She looked at the history of both countries in order to better understand the rapid rise in obesity among the two countries. Additionally, she looked at cultural and other factors that may have influenced the increase.
