I had the wonderful opportunity to complete my practicum with Police Autism Community Training (PACT) – a non-profit organization that advocates and raises awareness about autism and is dedicated to training first responders, autistic individuals, their families, and even their schools on how to better support autistic individuals in gaining the skills needed to be prepared for emergencies. I first came across this opportunity under the “MPH Practicum (APEx) & Culminating Experience (CE) Opportunities” section in the weekly PCH Connection email. After reading about the opportunity, I immediately reached out to PACT’s founder, Dr. Abbey Love, to get more information about the organization and to express my interest in getting involved. Together, we came up with a plan and shortly after, I was ready to begin my practicum.
My day-to-day activities consisted of working on my deliverables as well as other tasks assigned to me. This included researching existing strategies, interventions, and programs to improve the heath and maintain the safety of autistic youth and adults and developing a content model that included both the translation of existing resource guides and the creation of new Spanish-language resources to expand PACT’s reach and to further support Spanish-speaking audiences. In addition, during my experience I managed the organization’s social media content on Instagram, designed compelling visualizations and posts, and moderated user content to ensure that all engagement was appropriate and amplified PACT’s mission.
I enjoyed all parts of my practicum experience, however, what I loved most was designing the resources and social media posts. I really enjoy web design and graphic design and appreciate the freedom I was given to be creative with the development of these different resources. The team I worked with was amazing; everyone was respectful, supportive, and gave productive feedback, which also made the experience so enjoyable.
Although I was familiar with autism and had even led trainings about autism awareness in my role at Children’s National Hospital, my practicum with PACT allowed me to dive deeper and learn so much more about the different types of supports that are available for autistic individuals and their families. In addition, working with PACT helped me gain essential communication, health promotion, and research skills that I have been able to apply to both in the classroom and professional settings.
I am extremely fortunate for this experience and recommend all incoming and existing MPH students to really take advantage of the resources that GWU has to offer. When I first started the MPH program, I remember being very stressed about finding a practicum, however, there are so many wonderful opportunities available that are featured and promoted within the program and department. All you have to do is put yourself out there!