Alumni Networking: Joy Seanehia

Joy Seanehia

1. Where and what is your current work/professional situation?

I work as a Statistics Project Manager at the central service of the Maternal and Infant Protection Council (Département) of Seine Saint-Denis in the north eastern region of Ile de France.

2. How did you get involved in your current work?

I got involved in this current job after applying online when I saw the advert on the bdsp.ehesp.fr website. I was then interviewed for the job and got it.

3. When did you graduate from the EHESP MPH?

I graduated from the EHESP MPH Programme last year (July 2016).

4. How long did it take for you to secure a job following the MPH?

This is my second job after the MPH as I got a 4-month contract with my MPH internship supervisor after the MPH, as a junior epidemiologist. I worked on a project that differed from what I did during my MPH internship. After working with the EHESP team, it took a month and a half to start my current job which I applied for 3 months prior.

5. What types of internships did you do during the M1 (if applicable) and the M2 of the MPH?

I came to EHESP for my M2 and my internship was with the Statistics and Epidemiology Department of EHESP (METIS). I was supervised by my professor Judith Mueller and this brilliant experience led me to publish my article on Vaccine Hesitancy in the journal Vaccines.

6. What skills did you learn from the MPH program that are applicable to your current roles?

I often mobilize my Biostatistics skills in my current job and as well as my health promotion knowledge from my supra. Working again with Judith Mueller in my first job after the MPH made me use my epidemiology and social science skills in dealing with my qualitative and quantitative analyses.

7. Any advice for future EHESP MPH graduates?

I recommend making optimal use of your network, in your prospective job searches. Many of my professors knew when I was job hunting and I kept them updated on the progress of my job searches. I also was open to different training and conference opportunities that I was offered through my network of professors and EHESP team. After my MPH, while working in the EHESP team in my job as a junior epidemiologist, I was offered the R training course which I gladly accepted. I was used to Stata before then, but learning another statistics analysis language helped me in my conversion to SAS in my current job.

I also recommend learning French if the objective is to stay in France. Even if it isn’t, another UN language on your CV won’t hurt.

8. Tell us one thing about you that many people don’t know

I can speak some Chinese (enough to survive in China without asking for an English speaker to come to my aid) making it my 5th language in which I am fluent at.

9. Finally, if you could choose a different career path other than the one you are on, what would it be?

It took me ages to find my calling and I am glad I found in it Public health so I can’t see elsewhere. If I could add another career, however, that would be a delight and I could walk both paths.

I admire the discipline of musicians, who often cannot afford to miss a note. I like to think I have an ear for good pitch, and would like to be on the giving end of this food for the soul. So, I think I could have my cake and eat it, and the choice for me would be to combine a career in music with that of public health.