MS in Global Health Alum’s Long Road to Kenya

Denise Soltis’ career had already taken a few turns before she applied to the Northwestern University Master's in Global Health program. After getting her BS in pharmacy, Soltis, ’17, worked as a community pharmacist while her husband, also a pharmacist, pursued his PhD. Denise then worked at Drake University, first teaching a few classes and then going on to teach pharmacy practice at the university level.

She then pivoted to nonprofit medical care, joining a Belize-based nonprofit after a life-changing sabbatical where she helped provide free health care in remote villages. After her sabbatical, she continued to volunteer and eventually was promoted to the organization’s board chair. That was when she felt the limitations of her knowledge and experience. “We were making decisions without an idea or understanding of the impact of these decisions on the community we serve.’”

Choosing Northwestern University MS in Global Health to further community impact

Denise decided to get her master’s degree in Global Health. “Northwestern University just intrigued me, to be honest," she says. She felt intimidated to return to school at 50 years old but said, "the curriculum was interesting to me. I felt like Northwestern as an institution had an outstanding reputation to get a degree from.”

Finding her true calling with a global health career

She finished her coursework in one year, took another year to complete her fieldwork in Uganda doing community education on HIV/AIDS, contraception, and immunizations and then joined Umoja Partnership, where she is now the executive director. Umoja's work focuses on an area west of Kisumu, north of Lake Victoria, serving 5,000 students in a part of Kenya where children are particularly vulnerable to poverty, of being orphaned as result of HIV, of teen pregnancy.

Denise, who is based in Indianapolis, goes to Kenya twice a year and says she never envisioned a global life like this before her various pivots. "I was born in Ohio; then we moved to Georgia, then Tennessee. By the time I was 15, we moved to Indiana. I saw myself being a mom having a career, but I never even paid much attention to what was going on in the world.”

"Umoja" is Swahili for "together,” Denise notes, “People tend to go do development work by telling communities what they need instead of trying to learn from the community. All the solutions that we use in our project area are from the community of Chulaimbo, Kenya which we serve. The U.S. side is not bringing the solutions to the Kenyans but trying to help the Kenyans implement the self-identified solutions to the issues.” Following input from local teachers, Umoja, along with local NGOs, provides school lunch programs in 20 primary schools, uniforms, blankets, solar lamps, tuition support for high school and college, as well as empowerment programs specifically for boys and girls —“all things that keep kids from getting to school or doing well in school.”

Denise advances nonprofit career with an online master’s in Global Health

Denise says her Northwestern University master’s degree in Global Health helped her get noticed for the Umoja position. She often relies on expertise learned in graduate school at work, like grant writing, nutrition, and social determinants of health. Outside of coursework, she found it inspiring to see older students like her, classmates from around the world who were doctors, nurses, and public health professionals.

“It's never too late” to pursue a master’s degree at Northwestern University

Now, she loves seeing the effect of Umoja’s work on the ground. “I have never felt more fulfilled, even as a pharmacist, than I do now when I go to the country. I listen to our students, hear their stories. It's amazing.” Her advice to other career changers and lifelong learners: “Be open, explore your own self, try find something that you're passionate about. It's never too late.”

Northwestern University School of Professional Studies offers many degree and certificate programs, with evening and online options available. To learn more about how Northwestern University's online Master's in Global Health prepares graduates to advance their global health careers, fill out the form below and we will be in touch with you soon.