Margaret Shultz

District 9-2 Southeast – Waycross

Hometown: Cleveland, OH

Graduate Alma Matter: Tulane University

What excites you most about the fellowship program: Ever since graduating, I have been itching to put my epidemiologic knowledge from my classes into practice, so I am so excited to finally be engaging with communities and my public health peers in a way that will make tangible differences in their lives. I am also so excited to be working with Emory, as I’ve always had a deep respect of its work in the American public health framework. I hope to come out of this experience more confident in my skills, my knowledge, and my experience as a public health professional!

What do you love most about epidemiology: Epidemiology mixes together every discipline I love in health science. I initially went to college expecting to further my education in medical school, until I realized that my interests were more suited for population-level work. After discovering public health, I looked into epidemiology and found through my coursework that it is the perfect blend of quantitative and qualitative health science for me. I love that Epi focuses heavily on evidence-based data science, while also emphasizing and acknowledging the social, economic, and environmental conditions that impact our health. I love the impact that Epi can have on our communities at large, and how significant of a field it is, despite not working one-on-one with patients as medical practitioners would. It feels great to have discovered the discipline that feels perfectly molded to my interests and skillsets.

Epi Interests: My absolute favorite Epi discipline is Infectious Disease Epi–particularly, STIs/HIV, and vector-borne diseases. Apart from ID Epi, I also am very interested in vaccines and immunization, Injury Epi, and Spatial Epi. Any discipline that has strong socio-cultural impacts I find very interesting.

Hobbies and favorite pastimes: I love art, so, outside of Epi, you’ll likely find me drawing (traditionally or digitally) or painting (I have begun painting my own custom press-on nails which is so fun). I also love to listen to music (I try to listen to at least one new album a day when I have the chance), travel, and bike (Audubon Park was my go-to spot during my studies at Tulane). I have also been a huge video game fan ever since I was a child thanks to my older sister, so that is what you’ll likely find me doing to wind down my evenings.

Fun Fact: A fun fact about me is that I actually worked at a shave ice shop during the summer from 2018 to 2024! So, I know how to make a mean shave ice, which is an incredibly niche, inapplicable skill in most settings, but I’m proud of it nonetheless! My favorite flavor at our shop was Margarita.