Key Takeaways
- MPH student Daniel Serruya completed his practicum with the Fairfax County Health Department’s Fairfax Food Council, researching and developing policies to expand access to healthier food and beverage options in county vending machines.
- Through the experience, Serruya gained firsthand insight into the complex relationship between health policy, industry practices, and community health outcomes.
- Drawing on skills developed in the MPH program, Serruya strengthened his expertise in research, policy analysis, and cross-jurisdictional collaboration as he prepares for a career in health policy.
Daniel Serruya, MPH student, combines his nutrition, community health, and health policy experience during his MPH practicum.
How do vending machines and health policies influence each other? Daniel Serruya explored that question during his Master of Public Health practicum with the Fairfax County Health Department’s Fairfax Food Council, where he researched and developed policies designed to increase access to healthier food and beverage options.
photo provided
“It surprised me to learn about how past healthy vending policies have shaped what the food and beverage industries have produced since the creation of those policies,” said Serruya. “The push and pull between government and industry for a topic as specific as vending machine nutrition is fascinating to learn about.”
As the final component to the MPH program, the practicum provides students with the opportunity to practice and improve professional skills in a supervised setting. For Serruya, who aspires to improve health policy, his project for the health department gave him the experience he was hoping for.
"I learned about the background work that goes into health policies, just how complex and multi-sectoral something as simple as vending machines can be, and how to effectively network with others across different jurisdictions,” said Serruya, who is also a 2023 alum of the B.S. in Community Health program with a concentration in Nutrition.
At the health department, he researched, evaluated, and developed model policies for healthy options in vending machines on Fairfax County property. He says what he learned in his MPH classes was invaluable to getting the most out of his internship.
“The many hours I have spent practicing and refining my research skills and policy analysis have benefited me the most. GCH 611 Health Program Planning and Evaluation helped me evaluate policies effectively. NUTR 626 Food Systems taught me to view healthy vending through a wide lens, from nutrition standards and consumer acceptance to the perspectives of vendors and procurement partners,” he said.
Serruya wants to work in health policy to improve the systems that directly impact people’s lives and communities the most, and the MPH program has helped prepare him for his future as a public health practitioner.
“I love the flexibility of the MPH program as it has allowed me to organize my courses in a manner that interests me and fits my schedule,” said Serruya. “I have immensely appreciated all the faculty and students I have interacted with within the College of Public Health, especially in the Nutrition Department where I work and the Office of Student Affairs across the hall from the cooking class that I am a teaching assistant for!”
Through his practicum experience and MPH coursework, Serruya is building the skills needed to pursue a career developing and shaping health policies that improve community health outcomes.