A Passion for Prevention: Public Health Alumna with a Global Vision
Aly Elliott, who earned a Bachelor of Science in Public Health (BSPH) from Baylor University in May 2025, has used her passion for disease prevention and education to benefit the Waco community and beyond. Her strong foundation in health education and global health stems from her interest in epidemiology, which jump-started her love for the field of public health.
“Public health is so connected with everything in our society. You don’t really know that until you study it, but then you start seeing the impacts of public health everywhere,” she said. “When you see signs about anti-smoking or campaigns to wear your seatbelt, you realize how much public health has truly done.”
One of Elliott’s main interests is infectious disease transmission and prevention. She recalls always being fascinated with how diseases can spread so quickly and describes finding their origin as “like a puzzle.” In Fall 2025, Elliott will continue that passion as she pursues her Master of Public Health (MPH) in Epidemiology with hopes to eventually earn her PhD. Ultimately, her goal is to travel globally and use her skills in epidemiology to help communities amid disease outbreaks.
During her time in Waco, Elliott served the local community as a prevention and education intern for the Advocacy Center for Crime Victims and Children. The Advocacy Center is a non-profit organization that aims to bring about healing to children and adults who are victims of crime, while also providing community resources to facilitate change through advocacy and education.
“I focused on health education, like teaching middle school kids about healthy relationships, conflict resolution, and consent. I also attended local events to share resources about the advocacy center and its mission,” she said. “In addition, I developed an educational campaign in order to fill a resource gap when it comes to trauma and sexuality.”
This work resulted in a resource that was developed and launched by Elliott herself. “Reclaiming You: Embracing Sexuality after Trauma” is a trauma-informed educational pamphlet now used in the Advocacy Center’s client services to support survivors’ sexual health healing journeys.
While at Baylor, Elliott also served as a supplemental instructor (SI) for Microbiology, mentoring younger students through educational resources and study sessions.
“My favorite aspect of being a SI was when I truly connected with a student and helped them piece together information about microbiology that they were struggling with—it was great to see that lightbulb moment,” she said.
As a student, not only was Elliot able to serve her local and campus communities, but through Baylor’s Department of Public Health, she gained an opportunity to spread her skills globally as well. In Summer 2024, she and her peers joined Beth Lanning, PhD, MCHES, Associate Chair, Professor, and Director of the MPH in Community Health Science Program, on a trip to Rwanda. Partnered with African New Life Ministries, the study abroad trip aimed to provide health education and collect epidemiological data across communities in Rwanda for a longitudinal study. Elliott visited a water treatment plant, helped collect health data, and also provided health education. She said the experience was “incredible” because she not only got the opportunity to combine her love for epidemiology and public health but also got hands-on experience in that data collection process, expanding her notion of what public health entails.
“I learned how expansive public health is, and being able to see it play out in a different context was interesting. I think that more-developed countries believe their way is the ‘correct’ way in terms of health, but that’s not exactly true because every country has different traditions and expectations,” she said.
Elliott plans to use that global perspective on health during her time as a graduate student and beyond, but she said she owes her growth as a student to her Baylor professors and peers. Throughout her time in Baylor’s classes, internships, and discussions with what she describes as “a close-knit” group of public health students, she discovered how complex public health is, and it only made her feel more passionate about her career.
“There are so many avenues of public health, and they are all incredibly intricate,” she said. “I came into Baylor knowing the basics of public health and viewed it as something broad. But over time, it only got more complex, but equally more impactful.”
ABOUT ROBBINS COLLEGE OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SCIENCES AT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY
Established in 2014, Robbins College of Health and Human Sciences seeks to enhance health, quality of life, and human flourishing for all individuals and communities through education, research, and innovation. It includes six academic departments—Communication Sciences and Disorders; Health, Human Performance, and Recreation; Human Sciences and Design; Occupational Therapy; Physical Therapy; and Public Health—along with the Division of Health Professions, which houses the Master of Physician Assistant Studies program. Robbins College offers 13 bachelor’s degrees, eight master’s degrees, and six doctoral degrees, as well as nine graduate programs in partnership with the U.S. Army. Graduate programs in Robbins College are offered in a variety of modalities, including on campus, online, and hybrid.