My name is Sarah Thomson and I’m a second-year MPH student at BUSPH in the Epidemiology/Biostatistics and Infectious Disease certificates. I’m also working as a peer writing coach and serve as the peer coach team leader for the Public Health Writing Program.
I believe that clear, concise, and powerful writing has a place in every public health discipline. People often ask me how, as a quantitative type, I ended up as a peer coach and the team leader for the writing program. I came to BUSPH primarily to improve my quantitative skills, but hard evidence only makes a difference if our results are communicated clearly to the public.
I have always enjoyed the writing process and I value the power we have as communicators to change behavior and shift public opinion. I wanted to become a peer coach so that I could support others as they strengthen their written communication skills and find their voice through writing. Regardless of your interest area or what drew you to public health, strong writing is essential.
The most rewarding part of this job is the feedback I get from students, and the process of working together to take an idea and develop it into a powerful argument and commentary on the chosen subject. Something clicks when you hear your work read aloud by a peer, and I usually don’t have to tell students that something sounds convoluted because they can hear it as I read their work back to them. Even the most eloquent speakers have trouble translating their spoken statements into written ones. As someone who always reads my own work out loud to myself at my desk, I preach what I practice.
Before becoming a peer coach, I didn’t take advantage of this the Public Health Writing Program or our other writing resources as much I should have. I remember being a student in PH720, struggling to organize my thoughts and being intimidated by graduate school writing. Meanwhile, there was a whole team of students armed with knowledge, experience, and resources in the peer coaching office who could have guided me as I began my public health writing journey.
I encourage everyone, whether it’s your first semester or your last, to take advantage of the Peer Writing Coach Program. Everyone has something to gain from their interactions with our office.