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

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“Explore, explore, explore,” urged Sharon Kozuch, one of the panelists at the OCS event this past Friday about careers in psychology and mental health. Because the fields of psychology and mental health are highly diverse and demand fairly different skill sets and personalities, it is hard to say what the “right” path is for a given individual looking to enter this realm of the working world. So, to give the audience a well-rounded perspective on some of these possibilities, each panelist at this program spoke about his or her unique professional experiences.

Kozuch, a senior therapist and program administrator at the Dimock Community Health Center in Boston, described her career path and transition from the corporate world into non-profit and mental health work. Among other things, she noted the great value she found in volunteering as a way to gain professional experience, demonstrate your commitment, and build a network in a field that may be new to you.

As a research assistant at the BU School of Medicine and Boston Medical Center, Keshia Toussaint loves the daily interaction she gets to have with her clinic’s patients. “I get to talk to them on a day-to-day basis,” she explained, “and hear them voice their concerns and talk about everything.” This human interaction, for Keshia, is a daily reminder of why she wanted to go into the health care profession in the first place. Though she is currently focusing on a project looking at HIV and AIDS, she explained that her position as a research assistant has given her a great perspective on the range of roles in the field – so, for someone unsure of which area of mental health care is the right fit, starting out as a research assistant is a great option.

Alternatively, as the disability services coordinator at The New England Institute of Art, Matthew Vialva spends less time communicating directly with patients and works administratively to oversee the student support program as a whole. “I’m really busy…I wear many hats,” he put it simply, explaining that his job entails a lot of multitasking with little support, so his time for student interaction is fairly limited. Nevertheless, his position working with students at the The New England Institute of Art has afforded him a lot of opportunities and rewarding experiences. He loves his job, but warned his audience that “the mental health and social services realm is such a growing field, and it’s not an easy one. Don’t let anyone tell you that.”

What should college students do first to make their stakes in this field? Keshia emphasized the importance of having a great summer internship experience. “Being in that sort of environment is really important,” she advised. “You can get insight into different types of things you can do with an underserved population. Start early and cast a wide net.” Sharon reiterated this point, adding that networking is really useful tool for this area. “In this economy, you need to put yourself out there, but you won’t always get something in return,” she explained. “But people want to help you, and they want to be able to share their experiences.”

Because there are so many routes to explore in this field, Matthew stressed the importance of putting yourself first in the job search. “Know that you have options, and always make sure to have a plan,” he advised. “You know yourself best, so you need to do your research to know what you’re getting into, and figure out what it is that you want to do.” And though there are so many opportunities available, there’s still some room for professional creativity: “Sometimes, you have to create opportunities for yourself, because you need to get your foot in the door.”

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Julia Eger, ’14

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