Hello, my name is Megan A. Tideman and I am excited to be joining the National Health Corps Chicago! I believe in the value of service to society, and I'm looking forward to spending the year supporting public health in Chicago. I've always been interested in health, starting as an adolescent while reading a series of novels about a spunky nurse named Cherry Ames, and evolving into evenings sitting and reading my family's giant encyclopedia of health on my lap as a teen. In my undergraduate years, my classes were in health studies, but I was also fascinated by numerous other topics. Public health is unique in that it is a combination of biological and social sciences, with an added facet of social justice. Too often poor outcomes of health are related to social determinants rooted in social injustice, and by focusing on prevention, public health targets the root causes of inequity. I'm hoping that my year working with the National Health Corps Chicago and the Legal Council for Health Justice will provide me a training ground for learning of resources and efforts in the field of public health within Cook County.
AmeriCorps is a service organization, but I appreciate that beyond traditional business hours of the role, NHC Chicago encourages additional service to the community. One of my favorite things to do is volunteer as a tutor to a (soon-to-be) 2nd grader with the organization Cluster Tutoring. I've volunteered in the past at my local community hospital, and a variety of other non-profits in the area. I'm excited for new opportunities to serve new organizations through continued service, and I can't wait to make new connections—both inter-personally and intellectually. During my down time, I work at a library and enjoy watching international period dramas on Netflix. I can't wait to see where this year takes me!
This blog was written by 2018-19 member Megan Tideman.
