Daniel Buck teaches children about oral hygiene at Safe Haven Summer Camp.
While working for North Carolina’s Columbus County Health Department in the summer 0f 2017, Pathways to Practice Scholar and East Carolina University Public Health Studies student Daniel Buck expected to work with underserved, rural communities. What he didn’t expect, however, was to gain fulfillment by serving a population he had never before worked with – children.
In addition to creating health educational materials like a brochure on Shaken Baby Syndrome, Daniel spent a majority of his placement conducting educational outreach in partnership with Safe Haven Summer Camp in Bolton, North Carolina. At Safe Haven, Daniel taught children aged 5-13 years old in the “Education is the Equalizer” program about nutrition, dental hygiene, and physical activity. By sharing information about healthy behaviors, Daniel was able to teach the children how to reduce their risk for the chronic diseases that affect so many in their community. Though he had never before worked with children, Daniel says that, “to my surprise, working with the children turned out to be the highlight of all my working during this field placement.”
Daniel enjoyed his work this summer so much that after graduation, he accepted a position at the Columbus County Health Department. As a new Health Promotion and Education staff member, Daniel says he is “very excited to continue working with other underserved communities here in Columbus County.”