16岁的马蒂亚斯·格兰德来到伯洛伊特学院 物理 并获得了该学科的专业. 然而，今天，他应用了 数据分析 and visualization skills he learned in 物理 to a different passion: 公共卫生.

目前, a program manager for a non-profit 艾滋病毒/STI clinic in southwest Houston, 马蒂亚斯将加入美国.S. 国务院 in April 2022 to serve as a Strategic Information Advisor in the 联合国办事处.S. 全球艾滋病协调员.

Matias Grande”16 with a Regional Malaria Contract Tracing Team.

Pivoting partway through a 皇冠crown体育 education to a new focus is not unusual. 事实上, such shifts are not only common but encouraged when they help students realize their passions. 毕竟, 大学是一个成长的时期, when students not only learn skills and subject matter, 也是关于他们自己的. Faculty and staff at Beloit not only understand this, 但是要在学生学习的过程中给予支持, 成长, 和改变.

“I thought I had a good understanding of college life when I enrolled at Beloit, 就像我妈妈在德州体育学院教书一样&M and my dad at a community college,” Matias recalls. “And since my family is considered to be left-leaning in conservative College Station, 我长大的地方, I assumed that Beloit’s campus environment would be familiar.”

但是没有, 这与家里的生活不同, from its liberal ideas and social mores to modest interest in viewing sports. In Texas, Matias was used to crowds of 5,000 attending the high school football games he played in. 尽管如此, 伯洛伊特学院也很欢迎, and once Matias developed a passion for 公共卫生, he found the resources and guidance he needed to prepare for a career in that field.

第一个, 然而, Matias took a break to rethink what he wanted out of college; during his sophomore year, 他觉得自己在滑行. He’d spend what would have been the fall semester of his junior year in Uganda. Vacation terms allow students to take breaks from the college when they need them. 当学生返校时，他们也可以轻松地重新注册.

在乌干达, first-hand observations introduced Matias to the power of 公共卫生 programs: they improve people’s lives. Reading 公共卫生 literature deepened his interest, 所以当他回到伯洛伊特学院时, 他开始学习 健康和社会方案.

“在乌干达, I realized I wanted to make an impact. I became aware of the work being done in 公共卫生 by NGOs, CDC, and the 国务院. 回到贝洛伊特, I was able to explore 公共卫生 as a discipline and profession and was introduced to 职业的可能性.”

For example, a class presentation by another student focused on the work of an international NGO. 另外, Beloit alumni were often invited to address classes, 这样学生就可以了解他们的 职业生涯 都在美国.S. 和国外.

Eventually, Matias would major in both 物理 and 公共卫生. 这是一个很好的组合, as he is able to apply the 数据分析 and data visualization he learned in 物理 to work in 公共卫生.

Following his graduation from Beloit, Matias served in the 和平队 在博茨瓦纳, where his skills helped make him useful in the regional hospital to which he was assigned. 和平队 volunteers typically work with counterparts who serve as mentors to help volunteers integrate into the host organization and community.

Matias Grande”16, 左前方, with participants in a workshop held in conjunction with the Youth Clinic opening.

Matias, 然而, found himself without a counterpart. But when he recognized that the hospital and its management team needed help keeping track of its work, 他主动提出要帮忙. 利用他处理数字的能力, he complied and reported data on the hospital’s vaccine, 艾滋病毒, 还有疟疾项目, as well as those of its twenty-nine sub-facilities. 当他的坚持建立起信任, he was allowed to apply for funding to establish a youth-friendly clinic. 这家诊所现在由一名敬业的护士经营.

Not yet ready to return home at the end of his two years of 和平队 service, 马蒂亚斯与华盛顿大学签约 总统防治艾滋病紧急救援计划-supported project in Gaborone, Botswana’s capital. 由乔治·W·布什创立. 布什, 总统防治艾滋病紧急救援计划, 或总统艾滋病紧急救援计划, 在50个国家拯救生命, 预防艾滋病毒感染, and accelerate progress controlling the 艾滋病毒/AIDS epidemic.

随着COVID-19大流行的到来, Matias returned to Texas to finish out his contract, after which he moved into his current program management role.

Matias Grande”16, second from left, at a 总统防治艾滋病紧急救援计划 conference现在，即将加入 国务院, 他将转向宏观层面的工作, where he believes he will have a greater impact on people’s lives using the skill set he began acquiring at Beloit.

回顾他在伯洛伊特的时光, Matias notes the enormous impact of the interdisciplinary health and society 课程 关于他的职业生涯. Taking courses ranging from the natural sciences to the humanities broadened his worldview and helped him define his passions. 指导意见 罗恩·沃森, 政治学家 谁领导这个项目，也是关键. Ron的反馈, 无论是在演讲还是研究论文上, challenged Matias’s thought process and helped strengthen his ability to formulate comprehensive arguments.

Finally, he recommends exploring the world while you are young. “买机票而不是车. Material items depreciate; experiences are investments in your future self.”