Ph.D. candidate receives Georgia Local Section Scholarship

2. What can you tell us about your family and your childhood – how did this impact who you are today?
I grew up in a home of five children; four boys and a girl, and very early, my parents instilled in their children a sense of respect for scholarship and persistence. This has enabled me to maintain the drive to continue towards my goals despite the odds. The urge to be competitive was moderated by the lessons I was taught early on to respect my siblings, which was extended to people at large. Therefore, I have had a growing desire to apply my knowledge and skills in a field that directly affects people, alongside my quest for scholarship at the highest level. Although the journey towards a degree in something that fits the bill has been circuitous, my excitement has never waned knowing that I am always a step closer, and that “success is a journey”. I realize that there is always a step forward, and taking it gives me an opportunity to help, relate with, and learn from others.

3. What did you think you would grow up to be?
I thought I would do consulting: creating practical solutions to problems based on the knowledge which I always desired to seek at the highest level of scholarship. This goal became crystallized around environmental health as I progressed with my education.

4. When did you first realize you were interested in the field of occupational or environmental health?
My interest in occupational and environmental health was developed during my undergraduate degree program in industrial chemistry. This made me to be more aware of the connectedness between human health and human activities within the environment. My interest was also partly driven by the social, environmental and human health impact of oil exploration and production in the Niger Delta area of Nigeria which became international news while I was in college.

5. What drew you to the school you now attend?
I was attracted to the University of Georgia because of the type of research my current advisor conducts. I view the emerging air quality problems of developing countries as a huge challenge, and consider it as one of the areas where I would like to apply my knowledge in environmental health and toxicology. My advisor does relevant research by studying occupational and indoor woodsmoke exposure, and traffic exhaust exposure in the United States and Peru, a developing country.

6. Tell us about your research, or your favorite academic subject.
My research is primarily designed to study acute health responses due to woodsmoke exposure among wildland firefighters at prescribed burns using a complement of biomarkers of effect. I plan to collect data on a medium term basis, investigate trends in the levels of the biomarker and identify possibility of using these as an indicator of the development of more chronic adverse health responses due to woodsmoke exposure. Secondarily, I plan to study woodsmoke exposure among the firefighters, and seek to determine the more important factors that affect exposure.

7. What are your plans after this phase of your education?
I plan to work as a consultant in the areas of occupational, environmental and indoor exposure assessment and control. My primary interest is in the area of air quality control.

8. What does winning a scholarship from the American Industrial Hygiene Foundation mean to you?
I was very delighted to know that I was chosen for the scholarship award. The recognition was both reassuring and encouraging. It served as a tonic to press forward with my education, especially since I was about taking my comprehensive exams.

9. What would you tell other young people considering entering the fields of occupational or environmental health or safety?
The field of occupational or environmental health or safety is interesting in terms of its scope. They would be entering a multi-disciplinary field which would enable them learn a vast array of knowledge and skills in toxicology, epidemiology, environmental science, and biochemistry among others. Also, the applications of occupational and environmental health and safety are always relevant and cut across many industries. It is worthwhile to note that whether in academics or industry, the impact of the practice of these fields of knowledge on people, policy and the society is never remote.