Careers in Sexual Health

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Nearly concluding a busy and exciting week for the first annual Sex Week at Harvard was a panel on sexual health careers co-sponsored by the Peer Contraceptive Counselors and the Office of Career Services. Other co-sponsors included the International Women’s Rights Collective, Response Peer Counseling, ECHO Peer Counseling, Contact Peer Counseling, and SHEATH. The panel included a diverse array of experiences and opportunities for entering the field.

Lydia Shrier, a senior associate in medicine at Children’s Hospital Boston and an associate professor of pediatrics at Harvard Medical School, “fell into” sexual health by way of her early interest in pediatrics. After taking care of babies, Shrier became interested in adolescent health and was exposed to sexual health work. Kendra Moore, the women’s health outreach coordinator for Fenway Health, was always interested in non-profit work, especially in women’s health and LGBTQ rights. Through an AmeriCorps fellowship, Moore was introduced to sexual health. Justin Lehmiller, a social psychologist at Harvard University, described his career as “accidental, and certainly nothing my parents planned.” Having attended a small Catholic college with little exposure to such issues, Lehmiller’s eyes were opened after serving as a teaching assistant for a human sexuality course while earning his doctorate. And Karyn Evlog-Lewis, a nurse with the Massachusetts SANE program, came from law enforcement. In the course of her work, Evlog-Lewis learned about SANE and found it nicely combined her diverse interests.

“I’ve got the best job,” Shrier declared with a smile. “I get to talk about sex and drugs with students! We have fun and humorous conversations about uncomfortable topics.” Moore cherishes the one-on-one time she spends with patients. “I learn from the people I talk to every day,” she said. “I feel like I’m fighting for things that are important.” Like Moore, Evlog-Lewis values the one-on-one care of SANE nursing compared to the more impersonal task of floor nursing. “I like being able to take care of someone and feel like I’m doing something important,” she explained. And buried under a heavy – and admittedly self-imposed – workload, Lehmiller notes that “what I like is what is difficult,” yet says he still finds the motivation to get it done.

Why is sexual health important to these panelists? “Historically, women have been treated poorly in emergency rooms,” explained Evlog-Lewis. “I feel a great sense of satisfaction and hope when helping these women.” Moore observes a great deal of misinformation and shame surrounding conversations about sex, and wants to do something about it. “Sex is a part of everyone’s lives,” she said. “It’s important to make an impact and bring up the conversation among all walks of life.” Lehmiller initially became interested in sexual health because it was “fun and interesting,” but now “it’s very personally meaningful” and fulfilling to work on. And Shrier calls her a job a “real privilege,” saying that she “feels appreciated” and is able to “influence people in a tangible way.”

Did the panelists imagine they’d be where they are now while in college? “My parents picked my first major,” admitted Lehmiller with a chuckle. “I never imagined this career until I began exploring other options.” Likewise, Shrier initially focused her efforts on medical school and pediatrics. “I had no idea I’d end up here,” she said. “But after some experience with adolescent health, I realized I loved it because I could work on so many different aspects of medicine.” Evlog-Lewis earned a psychology degree because back then, the common sense was that “if you got a piece of paper, you’d get a job.” Yet she never imagined her current job, and neither did Moore. “I knew some things I wanted to do, but I wasn’t sure,” she said. “For me, it was all about different and enriching work experiences.” Certainly, she has that now.

So what advice would the panelists give to interested students? “You can go at it in any number of ways,” explained Shrier. “Decide what you’re interested in and put a path together.” Echoing the point, Moore urged the audience to “think about what skills and areas are interesting to you, and then learn as much as you can.” Lehmiller put it nicely: “what will you wake up excited to do every single day?” Answering him in the affirmative, Evlog-Lewis traced a personal history featuring several careers and ended with a simple declaration: “You have to really want to do this.” If you want it, you can do it – these panelists are living proof of this truth.

—Nicandro Iannacci, ’13

Social Change & NGOs

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In an ever-changing world filled with colossal and puzzling problems, what exactly is the most effective way to initiate social change? Four panelists grappled with this pressing issue last Tuesday afternoon. In a discussion led by Smitha Ramakrishna ’13, students from all areas of expertise and experience heard first-hand accounts of what it is like to work in this career industry, and gained wisdom on how to succeed in the field.

Some might consider some sectors for NGOs as an act of “tough love” at times, but these panelists stressed the importance of a personal passion for this career space. “Working in the field you’re passionate about is an incredible thing,” explained Katherine Conway, a manager at Amigos de las Americas and first-year student at the Fletcher School. Katherine emphasized the excitement she had for her work out of college that allowed her to travel to a wide variety of villages and countries dealing with issues such as anti-poverty and international development. Joshua Rubenstein, a director at Amnesty International, also spoke to the aspect of travel involved in this career field. He encouraged his audience to get experience working abroad in various cultures, as well as to study foreign languages at a college level. “Learning the language of the place you are working makes it a way more impactful experience,” he said.

Another topic raised during the panel (one that is addressed frequently in this field on the whole) is the difference experiences that come from working in a smaller office versus a larger one. Katherine explained that she tried to stay in smaller NGOs because she wanted to get a heavier hand in the inner workings of the organization. “I want to be at the table when decisions are being made,” she said. “That’s the only way you get leadership and management experience.” Contrarily, Ilana Nelson-Greenberg, who works for Partners In Health, recognized that there is certainly a lot to learn in a small organization, but she personally preferred a larger office. “The mentorship I’ve found in bigger corporations has been really key for my experience,” she explained. “There are people I can learn from who have been thinking about these topics for 25 years.”

Though the panelists’ conversation took its audience through an inside tour of careers in NGOs, there was one comment that surprised many in the audience: recognizing that not all positions for social change are rooted in a drastic reworking of the current framework. Ilana spoke to this view from her experience in global health. “You don’t need to reinvent the wheel,” she put it plainly. “There’s a tendency among our generation to think that global health is impenetrable, and that there are simply too many pieces of the puzzle. But there’s nothing wrong with plugging into the large groups who have already tried to deal with these issues. That’s a perfect way that you can help, and you don’t need to reinvent that.”

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Julia Eger, ’14

How Important Is Your GPA?

So you’re a student at Harvard. You’ve made it to the big time. Time after time, you’ve proven your ability, and now – finally – you can relax in a fun community of scholars. Right?

Unfortunately, that’s just not the experience of the average Harvard student. For any number of reasons, students regularly experience a great deal of stress, most notably in the academic sphere. The question becomes, then, a simple one: how important, really, is the GPA?

With an audience filled to capacity, the Office of Career Services recently hosted a panel of students and scholars, advisers and professionals. Moderated by Dr. Ariel Phillips from the Bureau of Study Counsel, the group’s collective record boasted numerous successes and failures. Together, the panel represented:

  • 5 graduate degrees, 10 teaching appointments, 3 books, 5 grants/fellowships, 1 cable show host, 1 deanship; but also,
  • 12 failed grant applications, 2 aborted grants, several “C” grades, 1 rejected dissertation, 1 final exam slept through, and 1 incomplete high school degree.

What, then, can be said about the GPA and the college experience?

“Don’t necessarily listen to your mom,” suggested Rory Michelle Sullivan ‘09, a first-year proctor at the College and the Director for Residential Education and Arts Initiatives at the Freshman Dean’s Office. As an undergraduate, Sullivan wished to concentrate in folklore & mythology but chose a more conventional department at the behest of her family. Though she found some success in her classes – including a statistics project published in The Harvard Undergraduate Research Journal (THURJ) – Sullivan ultimately felt out of place, even once having to meet with her resident dean after almost failing a course. It wasn’t until she took some classes in folklore & mythology that she felt successful. “When you do the things you’re passionate about, you’ll want to put in the time and it won’t feel like work,” she explained. “So trust yourself.”

For Taras Dreszer ’14, the message was similar: “Do what you feel you want to be doing.” In the last two years, grades were not a priority for Dreszer, who decided to pursue piano lessons and other interesting opportunities with the flexibility of a healthier schedule. “If you can accept a B+ in a class, you’ll experience an exponential reduction in stress,” he explained. Though he initially felt inadequate and miserable at times, finding few others who shared his attitude, Dreszer has since adjusted well and even plans to take a semester or year off in the coming months. “Don’t be afraid not to be the norm here,” he urged the eager crowd.

Taking the long view, Dr. Oona Ceder ’90 – the Assistant Director for Premedical and Health Careers Advising at OCS – emphasized strength of attitude. “The academic experience is a process,” she said. “Don’t let perceived ‘failures’ take hold of you.” Growing up with an organic chemist for a father, Ceder was certain she would also study chemistry at Harvard…only to score much lower on the chemistry placement test than she expected. Luckily, she was accepted into a competitive freshman seminar with renowned political science professor Joseph Nye. It wasn’t until graduate school applications that Ceder realized her blessing in disguise. “I realized I had done really well in the courses I loved,” she explained. Thanks to good mentors – who weren’t always obviously supportive – and in spite of a “C” on her transcript, Ceder forged a successful path.

Echoing the sentiments of her colleagues, Dr. Elizabeth Pegg Frates ’90 – assistant clinical professor and Director of Medical Student Education in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Harvard Medical School – encouraged students to follow their passion; to be open to challenges, even if they don’t lead to “the best” grade; and to cultivate a “growth mindset.” Though she originally planned to concentrate in economics and take over her family’s business, Frates found that she didn’t like economics as much as she thought. (Wondering if it was only her who fell asleep in Economics 10, one student replied without missing a beat, “No, the lectures are boring, I fall asleep, too!”) Faced with her father’s paralyzation in her sophomore year, Frates was introduced to medicine and eventually pursued that career instead. And despite receiving a C+ in one course, she followed her father’s advice and moved on from the failure. “Constantly be looking for opportunities to grow,” she emphasized. “If you fail, recognize that it happened and figure out why so you can do things differently in the future.”

Other helpful advice from the panel:

  • Most employers who come to campus look at academic performance, but it’s not a deal-breaker. Even if you don’t make a “GPA cutoff,” apply anyway!
  • Employers and admissions committees are often interested in the content of the courses you take, so don’t be afraid to take a challenging course that interests you.
  • As always, when applying for jobs, know something about the industry you want to work for and be cautious of etiquette. In reality, almost no one asks about your GPA in the professional world!

So be yourself and pursue your passion. The GPA is really just an afterthought.

—Nicandro Iannacci, ’13