On April 24, 2019 the Population Health Analytics Lab made a trip to Marc Garneau Collegiate Institute to meet with 20 students, predominately in grades 10-12. Our trip was part of a program, led by the Dalla Lana School of Public Health’s 
Outreach and Access team, that aims to raise awareness of non-clinical health careers among high school students from backgrounds that are under-represented in the health sciences.
The Population Health Analytics Lab introduced students to the field of public health and epidemiology by showing them a real-life example of the complex challenges our field aims to address. We showed students a map of premature mortality by TTC subway stops in Toronto—a region that is close to home. In this article by the University of Toronto, two high school students who attended our presentation reflected on how eye-opening the presentation was and how mortality rates were much higher in their own community. More than a year later, one student recalled our exercise and reflected on how our past experiences and the social determinants of health work synergistically to shape our future risk of poor health outcomes:
“My classmates were focused on the past, but I was able to connect all of this to the future situation – our situation. I showed the very map Professor Rosella showed us last summer. All of their faces were exactly like mine when I saw the map for the first time. Our communities will continue to be disadvantaged.” – Maimuna Akhter
Both students spoke very highly of the DLSPH Outreach and Access Program launched in February 2019, which offers a breadth of learning opportunities, mentorship, and skill development. We are thrilled to learn that the two Marc Garneau alumni interviewed in this article will go on to pursue undergraduate studies in health sciences at the University of Toronto Scarborough. The Population Health Analytics Lab wishes Maha Khan and Maimuna Akhter the best of luck as they start their new journey in the Life Sciences program.