My name is Jamie Lee, and I currently serve as the School-Based Dental Program Assistant at the San Francisco Department of Public Health. I graduated from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health this May with my MSPH in Health Education and Health Communication. Naturally, my life until this past summer has been a whirlwind of classes, exams, and everything else that comes with being a student. To put a pause on being a student, I joined NHC SF and made the thrilling and daunting decision to move across the country. I arrived in the Bay Area, excited to be in a new city and meet new people. Above all, I was grateful for the opportunity to play a direct part in public health programs on the field, rather than the more upstream work I had previously experienced in my research.
Living on a stipend and commuting solely on public transportation were challenges I was confident I would take on, but in practice, reality was humbling. Coming straight from studenthood, adhering to a structured schedule was difficult. After host site service, I couldn’t bring myself to enjoy my newfound free time, liberated from assignments and studying, and would immediately head to bed to rest up for the next day. No matter how early or long I slept, I constantly felt exhausted. I almost always opted to stay home rather than commute to the city and hang out with my cohort, desperately holding onto whatever scraps of time I had. Within a few weeks of starting, I quickly became disillusioned, finding that it wasn’t the experience I had hoped for. As I realized that my energy levels, social life, and mental health were headed down a negative trajectory, I realized that something had to change.
The only thing I could change was my mindset in taking on each day. I began with little shifts in the way I considered things. My hour-plus commute on the CalTrain every day felt less like a waste of time and more like a designated time carved into my day to read a book, listen to music, or catch up on shows. No matter how tired I was after my host site service, I forced myself to go to the gym or walk around my neighborhood once I got home. On weekends, I committed at least one day to doing something fun and devoted the other day to catching up on rest, chores, and self-care. Sure enough, I could feel my mental and physical health improving day by day, and I even felt more invigorated to do more.
The ever-supportive NHC staff members never fail to stress the importance of self-care and listening to your body and mind throughout your service year. This seems like an obvious truth, but it never really resonated with me until I found myself on the brink of burning out. As NHC members, our main responsibility is to serve others, but that doesn’t mean you should neglect your well-being. In my service year so far, I have learned so much about public health, health programs, and public service, but the greatest lesson I’ve learned is how to take care of myself.
My name is Jamie Lee, and I currently serve as the School-Based Dental Program Assistant at the San Francisco Department of Public Health. I graduated from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health this May with my MSPH in Health Education and Health Communication. Naturally, my life until this past summer has been a whirlwind of classes, exams, and everything else that comes with being a student. To put a pause on being a student, I joined NHC SF and made the thrilling and daunting decision to move across the country. I arrived in the Bay Area, excited to be in a new city and meet new people. Above all, I was grateful for the opportunity to play a direct part in public health programs on the field, rather than the more upstream work I had previously experienced in my research.
challenges I was confident I would take on, but in practice, reality was humbling. Coming straight from studenthood, adhering to a structured schedule was difficult. After host site service, I couldn’t bring myself to enjoy my newfound free time, liberated from assignments and studying, and would immediately head to bed to rest up for the next day. No matter how early or long I slept, I constantly felt exhausted. I almost always opted to stay home rather than commute to the city and hang out with my cohort, desperately holding onto whatever scraps of time I had. Within a few weeks of starting, I quickly became disillusioned, finding that it wasn’t the experience I had hoped for. As I realized that my energy levels, social life, and mental health were headed down a negative trajectory, I realized that something had to change.
I considered things. My hour-plus commute on the 
