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College Partners with Pima County Health Department for Career Opportunities Panel

MEZCOPHA Alumna in the Career Panel

Representatives from Pima County Health Department, including some of our public health alumni, joined a panel discussion for UArizona students about career and internship opportunities at the Health Department and how to effectively pursue open positions.

Representatives from Pima County Health Department (PCHD), including some of our alumni from the University of Arizona’s Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health (MEZCOPH), joined a panel discussion for public health students about career and internship opportunities at the Health Department. Students who attended the panel, titled ‘Professional Opportunities with Pima County Health Department,’ learned about PCHD career paths, the positive experiences of our alumni, job openings, and application strategies.

The panel was organized by Katie Careaga, Community Outreach Coordinator for the college, in collaboration with Matt Kopec, Career Development and Retention Coordinator for PCHD. The partnership between PCHD and MEZCOPH is supported through a formal Academic Health Department agreement.

The panel discussion brought together more than 30 public health students, staff, and alumni for an engaging presentation and discussion about job opportunities in PCHD. MEZCOPH alumni Kelsey Camps MPH '22, BS '20 and Jadyn Butler BS '23 shared their career journeys from internships at PCHD to their current roles. Camps now serves as Quality Improvement/Process Improvement (QI/PI) Program Manager and Butler now works as a Program Coordinator. Current MEZCOPH student Sailor Hutton, an AmeriCorps Intern at PCHD, also shared her experience.

Following those presentations, Matt Kopec, Career Development and Retention Coordinator for PCHD, gave a presentation on how to effectively craft resumes and apply for entry-level positions in PCHD. He announced that eleven paid Americorp Internship Opportunities are available at PCHD for the 2024-2025 academic year. The deadline to apply is Jun 14, 2024.

See Matt Kopec’s PCHD jobs presentation slides > Watch the video of the panel discussion >

PCHD Presentation Highlights:

  • Where to Search and Apply for PCHD Jobs: www.governmentjobs.com/careers/pima
  • PCHD Positions of Interest
  • How to Apply
  • Application Tips
    • Match terminology (MQs)
    • Clearly relevant experience (PQs)
    • Include as much as you can, even if it seems non-relevant, including unpaid work

Internships at Pima County Health Department

Attendees had the opportunity to ask questions. Many of the questions had to do with internship timing and whether international and/or PhD students were eligible to apply for internships. For questions about particular cases, students were provided the following contact information to follow up on their inquiries:

Internship opportunities for MEZCOPH students are posted on the Hub. Graduate students can also reach out directly to any of the contacts listed above to design their Applied Practice Experience (APE). It is important to start as early as possible to plan an ‘Applied Practice Experience,’ especially for international students. More information on the Arizona Academic Health Departments, including examples of previous student internships, can be found on the webpage for the college’s Office of the Associate Dean of Community Engagement and Outreach: publichealth.arizona.edu/outreach/community-engagement-and-outreach/ahd

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