丹尼斯迪恩有很大的计划，她的研究经验和健康科学学士学位正在帮助她实现他们。
“My ultimate goal is to work for the United Nations and work towards health equity on a global and national scale,” said Dean, who graduated in May with a minor in public health as well. She’s working on two public health grants in Kansas City through calendar 2021. “That’s something I’m really passionate about.”
To pursue her dream job, Dean will need a master’s degree in public health and, eventually, a doctorate in a health field. 凭借她所有的本科研究经验和在公共卫生领域的工作，迪恩有信心在2022年被她喜欢的研究生课程录取。
“I had a lot of opportunities to work in the field when I graduated,” she said, “but I’m eager to start work on my master’s.”
迪恩目前是护理与健康研究学院的公共卫生研究助理，她在获得BHS学位期间担任了几个学期的职位。 她是“我们的健康堪萨斯城东区”的青年部门研究协调员，该组织与青年团体、社区协会、教堂和企业合作，提供COVID-19疫苗接种和预防性健康筛查。
“I’m working with about 15 youth groups in underserved areas,” she said, training them to become Community Health Liaisons in order to share accurate health information. 她还与Move More， Get More合作，这是一项课后倡议，旨在增加堪萨斯城三所中学的营养和运动机会。
在获得BHS学位的同时，迪安还研究了全球卫生不平等和挑战、COVID-19、艾滋病毒和其他公共卫生问题。 例如，在该国首批有关大流行的课程中，迪恩成为了一名获得认证的接触者追踪者，并对医疗设备供应链和应急响应系统有了很多了解。
她的研究助理使她能够与乔伊·莱特纳，博士，公共卫生硕士和阿曼达·格莱姆斯，博士，m.c.h.es，两位助理教授一起工作。 Dean’s work in their public health programs resulted in her being the lead author on one peer-reviewed research article and a contributor on another, and reviewer for the 2021 National Reproductive Conference. She also got to help Lightner, a member of the city’s health board, draw up the city’s Community Health Improvement Plan, which put her in touch with experts in many areas of public health.
“Dr. Lightner and Dr. Grimes both opened up opportunities for me,” Dean said, “and pushed me to do a lot of undergraduate research. They really believe in their students, and they designed an interdisciplinary learning environment that has prepared me well to take on public health crises.”