MSc Public Health and Health Systems: Turning passion into action
In pursuit of a career path that she loves, Ellen Reyes’ journey took her 4000 kilometers from Ontario to the west coast of Canada to work as a Human Health Risk Assessor at Golder Associates Ltd. Having visited Vancouver before, she knew it was a location that she could call home. At Golder, Ellen performs data screening, statistical analysis, quality assurance and quality control measures on data sets in collaboration with scientists and engineers to solve province-wide environmental problems.
Her role aligns perfectly with the graduate research that she conducted in toxicology and risk assessment for her Master’s thesis at the University of Waterloo. Ellen has always had been interested in the field of public health and was inspired to pursue her area of expertise when she completed a risk assessment thesis project in her last year of undergraduate studies. She presented her work at a toxicology conference in the United States and was soon introduced to her future supervisor Professor Brian Laird. With his guidance, Ellen completed a Master of Science in Public Health and Health Systems, published peer reviewed papers in environmental public health journals, and developed strong data research skills that helped her to become successful in her current position. Ellen credits the University of Waterloo for giving her invaluable experiences and providing her with a supportive network that have connected her to the right people at the right time.
“During my program, I developed strong data research skills that aligned perfectly with the specific skills that my current position was looking for.”
