The School of Public Health (SPH) at San Diego State University (SDSU) is committed to increasing awareness and sparking interest in the expanding field of Public Health, particularly among under-represented minority (URM) students in the San Diego region. The Pathways to Public Health: Empowering the Next Generation (P2PH-Empower) initiative is designed to create an accessible and inspiring entry point for high school students to explore Public Health as a viable career path. Unlike the more familiar fields of medicine and nursing, Public Health careers are often less visible to high school students, especially those from underserved communities. P2PH-Empower aims to bridge this visibility gap by directly engaging URM students and building a sustainable pipeline into SDSU’s undergraduate Public Health program. As one of the schools of the College of Health and Human Services (CHHS), SPH proudly supports the 2025-2028 CHHS Strategic Plan, particularly its pillar of Leading Community Impact (SDSU CHHS, 2024). More specifically, the P2PH initiative supports the goal of the CHHS to enhance impact though service and its objective to create an outreach program to inspire future college students.
Goals and Objectives:
Goal-1: Increase awareness of SDSU’s Public Health undergraduate programs among URM high school students in San Diego County.
- Objective 1.1. Distribute digital and/or print outreach materials (e.g., flyers, brochures, etc.) to high schools within the SDSU’s catchment area by the end of 2025-26 academic year.
- Objective 1.2. Generate at least 3,000 engagements (likes, comments, views, shares) across social media platforms.
Goal-2: Develop strategic partnerships with community-based organizations and San Diego County high schools to support the recruitment of URM students.
- Objective 2.1. Establish partnerships with at least 5 high schools by the end of 2025-26 academic year, and expand to 9 partner high schools by the end of 2028-29 academic year.
- Objective 2.2. Establish partnerships with at least 5 community-based organizations by the end of 2025-26, increasing to 7 community-based organizations by the end of 2028-29 academic year.
Goal-3: Host an annual summer workshop at SDSU to provide URM high school students with engaging, hands-on experiences in Public Health and meaningful interactions with SPH faculty.
- Objective 3.1. Organize a five-day summer workshop with participation from at least 50 URM students spanning 10 high schools from San Diego County by the 2025-26 academic year, and expand to include an additional 40 URM students spanning 15 high schools by 2028-29.
- Objective 3.2. Increase participants’ knowledge of public health among workshop participants by at least 25% as measured through pre- and post- workshop survey assessments.
Goal-4: Establish a long-term strategy for sustaining and expanding the P2PH-Empower program.
- Objective 4.1. Engage at least three internal SDSU offices—such as Admissions, Explore SDSU, the CHHS Dean’s Office, or the Development Office—to promote the P2PH program and secure institutional support by 2026.
- Objective 4.2. Secure one external funding source (e.g., grant, donor, or sponsorship) to support program operations and ensure continuity by mid-2026.