Stormy Foster-Palmer

I majored in Health, Society & Policy with a minor in International Studies. Throughout my undergraduate experience I worked as a Neuromuscular Research Assistant at the School of Medicine, interned for Utahns Against Hunger doing food policy research, and with Utah Foundation doing public policy research on prison drug rehabilitation programs and suicide. I have participated in Global Health Scholars, as well as an Honors Praxis Lab called Gender, Health and Human Rights in which I helped to create a sexual assault resources website for the University of Utah. I have also volunteered with Horizonte tutoring ESL adults, and with Hser Ner Moo tutoring refugee children and teens. 

My hope is to pursue a dual master's degree in Public Health and Public Policy, and later a Juris Doctorate. I am fascinated by health policy and strongly believe that focusing on social determinants of health will be vital for effective change in the coming years. The interdisciplinary nature of the HSP program has prepared me for a career path in which I will be able to effectively collaborate with other health professionals to provide solutions for pressing public health issues.

For me, choosing the Health, Society & Policy major was the easiest decision I had to make in college. I have always had an interest in health, but felt that many majors I explored left me feeling distanced from the “people” part of health. Through the HSP program I have had the opportunity to study human health from the perspective of every discipline, culminating in a well-rounded knowledge of health and its many ailments--both physical and social.