In This Story
This year, the College of Public Health is proudly celebrating the tenth anniversary of establishing the Gamma Tau chapter of The Delta Omega Honorary Society in Public Health. The mission of Delta Omega is excellence in contributing to the field of public health and advancing the health of people in every aspect, both in the United States and internationally. At induction ceremonies, Delta Omega inducts select graduate and undergraduate students who have demonstrated top academic performance.
Over the past 10 years, the College has inducted 108 Master's students, 39 undergraduate students, and two faculty members (Dr. Laura Poms and Dr. Lila Fleming). At this year’s ceremony, The Gamma Tau chapter of Delta Omega will be inducting its first cohort of PhD students.
“The establishment of a Delta Omega chapter here at Mason allowed us to officially recognize the academic excellence of our students and faculty. Ten years later, now as the first College of Public Health in Virginia, we continue to be a pinnacle of public health education, research, and practice and our students are the evidence of this,” said Carolyn Drews-Botsch, professor and chair of Global and Community Health.
Many Delta Omega alumni go on to further their education and take on exciting careers. Bianca Alba, who has served as a mentor in the Public Health Alumni Mentorship Program, holds a position as a Public Health Analyst at the Health Resources and Services Administration in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. While earning her MS in Global Health Abby Lilak worked with the Mpala Research Centre of Kenya investigating disease spread between animals and humans, and is now pursuing a PhD at the University of Florida. Since graduating, Taylor Thomas has gone on to pursue her Master of Public Health at George Washington, crediting her experience in the College for finding her passion for population health.
Celebrating National Public Health Week
In addition to celebrating the tenth anniversary, Mason’s chapter of Delta Omega is commemorating National Public Health Week 2024 through organization volunteer service events with Patriot Pantry and Presidents Park Greenhouse. Learn more about their service here.