Katie Ogden – public health professional, scholar, GWSPH alumna, and she has advice for students that will help kick start their careers: “Do not underestimate the power of relationship building. You never know who will be able to help you with your career – now or in the future.”
Katie Ogden, BSPH ’13, spent the formative years of her public health career at the Milken Institute School of Public Health, although her journey began as a political science major. Katie’s interests were in the healthcare industry and she sought the pre-med track with a plan to attend medical school after graduation. It was during her first public health course when she realized that public health is where she wanted to be. It was the best fit for her strengths and aspirations.
Katie credits the direction of her career and the successes she has had to the undergraduate program’s world-class professors who offer unique and vast experiences, GW’s well-connected networks, and the opportunities only available at GW. With her unwavering passion for policies that promote healthy communities and being surrounded by students that share the same passion, she built an acumen for healthcare policies that are effective and meaningful. Katie saw that the future of our healthcare system depends on prevention, and she was determined to be a part of that.
Utilizing her experience at GW and the relationships she fostered here, Katie secured a position supporting the development of clinical practice guidelines at The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG). It was the important work she did at ACOG that led her to fall in love with clinical issues in women’s reproductive health. She gained invaluable experience at ACOG, promoting best practices related to disease prevention and health promotion, as well as contributing to ACOG’s Obstetrics & Gynecology journal. Her experience in this position, although remarkable and undoubtedly fulfilling, was not where she ultimately wanted to be. With higher career goals in mind, she set out to gain further training and discipline that would better equip her to solve the most pressing issues facing women’s and reproductive health. It was then that Katie decided enroll in a graduate program.
Currently, Katie is a Master of Public Health student at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health where she is pursuing a concentration in Women’s and Reproductive Health. She is hoping to graduate next year, and return to work in the field of women’s and reproductive health, where she is eager to apply new policy and advocacy skills to make a difference in the lives of women. Excited about where her career will take her following graduation, she is looking to the next step in her profession to continue the incredible progress our country has seen in the field of women’s and reproductive health.
Katie has a strong belief that passion drives success. Her passion to promote sexual and reproductive health in women has ushered her along in her career –from a scholar to a working professional— to a continuing scholar honing in on her talents and skills. She says “Doing what you love gives you the positive energy to strive for more and be the best advocate that you can be.” Whether it is seeking professional development or continuing education, she believes these are key elements to making the largest impact.