Internship Alum Interviews: Andy Pham

Dec 13

This post about Andy was one in a series in which interns in the Winter 2023 cohort interviewed past interns about how Concussion Alliance impacted their lives going forward. The below interview follows up with Andy, who has experience working in the healthcare industry. He was a project manager for Concussion Alliance. To learn more, see Andy Pham’s profile page. Sam Gossard, a sophomore psychology major at Carleton College, conducted this interview. See Sam Gossard’s profile.

*The transcript is lightly edited for clarity

Sam Gossard:

Today, I'm here with Andy. He was a past program manager for Concussion Alliance. Andy if you want to introduce yourself?

Andy Pham:

Yeah. My name's Andy Pham. I'm a senior at the University of Washington Bothell. I'm currently a public health student, and I'm also minoring in community health and global health. So a lot of that spectrum is just all tied together in one thing where I'm learning about how to better the quality of life for population health, learning about health systems and stuff like that. And yeah, currently, I'm trying to apply to grad school and go towards a master's in public health. Currently looking at the UW master's program along with UCLA. So yeah, that's just my thing right now. And I love public health.

Sam Gossard:

At Concussion Alliance, you worked as a program manager. How have the skills you learned as a program manager contributed to your experiences in the healthcare industry?

Andy Pham:

Well, for one, this was my first internship ever. So it was definitely a different experience from what I've been used to. It's something way different from just a normal job that you would work in person. So, initially, I had to go and realize I was managing more than just my own work. I had to manage the science writers themselves. So a lot of that was just bouncing between that, Connor, and some of the peer mentors, and with that, keeping in touch with the science writers and stuff.

So my job and my role was just really bouncing around these avenues all the time. At first, it was kind of hard to stay organized mentally because I've always kind of checked in between these groups, managing and seeing how everything was going. So oftentimes, I would work outside of the work hours but also be figuring out what to do from there and foundation steps to set myself up better for the next day. So sometimes it would be stressful in that regard, but even then, you're so involved in these projects and what the students are up to that you just have a big role in understanding how to better the students, how to contribute to discussions on the books and stuff, and even contributing to guest speakers.

And towards the end, when you're working with projects, it's super cool to see their progress, and how you can help. You can give your own insights. So being a project manager is, in a good way, just being all over the place and working in different sections of the project and the internship with people. But yeah, it was just a great learning experience, understanding how to work with timing, managing, and really bettering organizational skills with people.

Sam Gossard:

Yeah. I'm glad you learned all of these things while at Concussion Alliance. So, one of your goals is to emphasize educational awareness. How did your work at Concussion Alliance align with that goal? How does your involvement in the healthcare industry relate to your goal of emphasizing educational awareness?

Andy Pham:

I think initially, when I started, I was still diving into what exactly in public health I was looking for. I know this is an opportunity to really begin advocating. So, I think at this time, I was really interested in the research side of things, how concussion research was implemented, and how it was advocated. So of course, when I was looking on Handshake, Concussion Alliance was really advocating for these things. And it just sounded super interesting because you're doing research articles, you have people managing, and you have science writers. And all of these are different realms of public health that we need in society. So it's just something really important. And for me, it was really something I wanted to take an interest in and see how I could contribute personally.

And I think that really helped me understand that I wanted to be a public health leader in managing projects of some sort because I took a lot of pride in learning about people and how to manage these projects. Taking stepping stones to finish projects and how we can stay organized together to finish that deadline. So it was really good. I really learned a lot, and I think it was a great foundational step in taking that and moving forward as a future public health leader.

Sam Gossard:

Speaking to the curriculum that you had at Concussion Alliance with learning about concussions, how did that impact your relationships with others? Maybe others that you know who had a concussion?

Andy Pham:

For me personally, I didn't really have anyone else around me that were impacted in that way with concussions. But, I remember when I was initially applying, I could recall a time in high school when there was a school bus crash that I was on. It was super minor, but it was just one of those few times where you don't really know until it happens to you. You don't really expect it to happen until it happens. I got a little bit of a minor concussion that year in school, so I had to take a two-week break from my swim team.

So that was definitely something that I was exposed to, and it's still something I recall now. Like, "Wow." I guess I do have a connection to concussions somehow. So it's really interesting to know that. And I'm sure there are people out there who have many different stories on why concussions, concussion injury care, or even just the Concussion Alliance program itself sticks out to them. So I believe the cohort that we had all have something that draws them to concussions somehow, and accompanying that with research, community, public health, and managing and becoming a team, it’s just something that probably fits that bubble for everyone.

Sam Gossard:

Throughout the Concussion Alliance internship program, there are a lot of guest speakers who come in and talk. Were there any professionals that you were put in contact with through Concussion Alliance?

Andy Pham:

No, personally, but I think one of the guest speakers that really stuck out to me was the author of the book. I might've forgotten the title of the book.

Sam Gossard:

Yeah, Shaken Brain.

Andy Pham:

Yeah, shaken Brain. Yeah. That was a great one because I was managing a lot of questions while reading it. So getting to hear from the author herself was just really great to understand her perspective of things because it wasn't the most simple book. It had some complex details and ideas to it that really built off of concussion learning. So it definitely took a lot of time and investment to really read. But it was really rewarding when I got to hear it. And we all had that meeting together, learning about what she had written in the book, her passion for it. So it was a really great experience.

And yeah, honestly, every guest speaker had something different to share. It was great because of their perspective, being doctors, and understanding how their research contributes to medical school and health and concussion learning. So it was really great. I know it was a while for me, so I can't really remember all their names, but I remember guest speakers every week, and it was something I really looked forward to every week because, one, it wasn't reading, so it definitely wasn't boring. I could listen to people actually share their thoughts. It was a really great experience.

Sam Gossard:

So, a little bit more on your career. Do you want to just talk a little bit more about your goals with grad school and your career?

Andy Pham:

Well, for me, I'm applying to grad school to, as I said earlier, further that public health leader type of role. So, these grad programs that I'm specifically applying to focus on learning about health systems and population health, and then there are also realms of future public health leaders. So I think those are both avenues that I can really benefit from because when you're introduced to being a public health leader, you want to learn about health systems as well to best benefit how you can create a better quality of life for people there in any community because that work is just universal. It can be applied to any country, any city, and any state. It works out. So that's just something I've been looking forward to.

And besides grad school, the kind of role I see myself in job-wise would be King County Public Health. Any health district, such as the CDC, where I have a fundamental role as a project manager. With public health, you can go into any project because there are thousands of things like climate change, emergency preparedness, COVID-19, and HIV/AIDS. There are so many things that you can research and manage at the same time that you need for people. So honestly, being a leader in any of those realms is just something I'm looking forward to.

Sam Gossard:

You talked a little bit about getting to know the systems in place and the healthcare system. With your personal experience with concussion, were there any reflections that you had, after going through the curriculum at Concussion Alliance, on how you were treated?

Andy Pham:

In terms of reflections, I remember the stigmatization when you brush off a concussion; you just think, oh my gosh, it's just lightheadedness. It'll just go away. I shouldn't worry about it. But learning about that stuff now, of course, it's always... you need to take precautions and really understand what a concussion does to your brain. So, in terms of things I took away from the internship, it would be learning about that. And I've learned for myself how to help others in case of a scenario like that. Concussions are brushed off. They go under the water. So basically, when you learn about it, it's just fundamental to know the steps to take precautions for yourself, the people around you, and the close ones around you. So maybe in the future, if I had a kid who had a concussion during a sports event, I would know the first thing to do. There are also so many pages on Concussion Alliance that highlight different things and symptoms, like vestibular therapy, learning, and headaches. Those resources are really helpful in learning about that, and they're really accessible. So, learning about that and reflecting on it can benefit me now and in the future. It’s something that'll always be there for me. If anything happens, I can go and research that if I need to.

Sam Gossard:

Awesome. Yeah, thank you for everything today. Thank you for your work at Concussion Alliance, and I wish you the best with your career in public health.