Begin with Community | Clemson University

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EMILY’S
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Experience a new kind of family

A Clemson sunset over Death Valley and a home football game; a steaming cup of coffee and an iced cinnamon bun from her favorite downtown coffee shop: For Class of 2021 health science graduate Emily Martin, finding joy in the little things included discovering Clemson’s unique sense of community. And it was those seemingly small moments of support and connection that are taking her big places this fall as she begins her first year at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health to pursue a Master of Health Science.

Receive support

Originally from Boston, Emily unexpectedly lost her father the fall of her sophomore year. Hundreds of miles away from her immediate family, she says that the very definition of “Clemson Family” made itself known to her at that time, and it’s something she will never forget.

Find Your Community Paths to Grad School

Emily walks and talks with a male Clemson student in front of Sikes Hall. Both wear Clemson shirts and backpacks.

Emily smiles while conducting a health coaching session with a blonde female in a brightly lit health facility.

“These people around me came together and helped at one of the hardest times of my life. They stayed with me all day, they got me home to Boston and when I eventually came back, they did everything they could to be there for me. That experience solidified Clemson as my second home.”

Diabetes Education
and Support

Clemson University and Prisma Health-Upstate co-created one of the first practice-tested diabetes self-management support programs recognized by the American Diabetes Association (ADA).

14

Seed Grants for
Health Research

Clemson researchers have been awarded 14 grants from the Seed Grant Program at Health Sciences Center (HSC) at Prisma Health, which fund projects ranging from opioid exposure to cancer care.

Research at Clemson

15%

Increase From
2019 to 2029

According to the Bureau for Labor Statistics, health care will add more jobs than any other occupational group until 2029.

Find your purpose

The connections Emily made at such a difficult time in her young life intensified her love of Clemson and solidified her commitment to public health and finding ways to help prevent illness and disease before it strikes.

Emily points to a table of data in her research presentation while presenting in a bright window-lined room.

What is public health?

The field of public health emphasizes interventions in the home, the village and the larger community — not just providing treatment to those admitted to clinics or hospitals. The idea is that health is made at home and repaired in health facilities.

“Coming into college, I thought the only way I could help was going to medical school. But going into health science, I’ve learned about the whole field of public health and all the things you can do with it to help people on larger scales.”

Apply the research

Starting her first year, she began working with Clemson’s Healthy Campus initiative. This included serving for several years as a social media intern for the on-campus office, which is focused on promoting student health, sustainability and well-being. She witnessed, firsthand, the importance of community-driven health initiatives and what it means to introduce preventative health care measures close to home.

Academic Opportunities

Prevent illness
at scale

She learned how to provide health coaching and education for the diabetic community through Clemson’s Health Extension, a partnership that connected her with experts in a South Carolina health system and set her on a path to help the more than 34 million adults diagnosed with diabetes. And she ultimately took her knowledge and experience with her, presenting at an American Public Health Association conference after conducting research on integrative medicine for substance abuse and alcoholism with one of her professors.

Emily stands outside of a brick hospital, smiling and holding her laptop, wearing jeans and an orange striped shirt.

Emily sits and talks about the research findings on her computer with her professor in a brick-walled academic building.

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Begin With Community EMILY MARTIN

WATCH EMILY’S STORY