The Health Care & Science (HCS) Career Community wants to introduce students to a wide range of careers. Students may be familiar with popular clinical roles (e.g., nurse, physician, veterinarian), but less familiar with jobs in healthcare data analytics, renewable energy, or biotech research.  

Willie Love (‘19 Health Sciences) is a Social and Behavioral Coordinator at Howard Brown Health serving the South Side community of Chicago. In a recent interview, Debbie Kaltman (HCS Employer Engagement Specialist) spoke with him about his day-to-day life, internship experiences, and advice that he would give to students. 

As a Social and Behavioral Research Coordinator, Willie recruits people for research projects surrounding topics in community health. He takes patients through the research activities and gathers preliminary data for researchers to analyze. His main goal is to create an environment of comfort within the research space. 

In his DePaul experience, he initially pursued the pre-medicine track but changed to focus on the community health perspective rather than the individualized perspective of health. He interned at the Cook County Jail in the Cermak Hospital, which was one of his most influential experiences. After graduating from DePaul, he worked at Baxter before transitioning into his current position. 

His advice for students interested in community health is to try everything and be curious. If you go off of your preconceived notions, this restricts you. Being curious and exploring the resources around you will benefit your career exploration! To connect with Willie and other DePaul alums, join the DePaul Alumni Sharing Knowledge (ASK) Network!