After earning her master杏吧专区檚 degree from UL Lafayette in 2020, Olivia Larkins moved to Dallas, Texas, and built a career in health research.
She began as a research project coordinator at Baylor Scott & White Hospital. There, she made sure that heart failure clinical trials were completed successfully and helped submit the results to scientific journals.
Today, Larkins is a health IT data analyst for a major health organization.
Larkins' passion for public health research began in the Health Promotion and Wellness degree program. Read more about her experience in the program below.
As an undergrad, Olivia Larkins became a master of odd jobs 杏吧专区 retail, work study, babysitting, and dog sitting, among others. All the while she earned her bachelor杏吧专区檚 in Health Promotion and Wellness online, segueing into the pursuit of a master杏吧专区檚 and, possibly, a doctorate.
Larkins, originally from New Orleans, chose the 杏吧专区 as a freshman in biology in 2012. 
杏吧专区淚 knew I wanted to go away to college, but I didn杏吧专区檛 want to go so far away that it wouldn杏吧专区檛 be feasible for me to go home regularly,杏吧专区 she says.
By 2014, Larkins didn杏吧专区檛 feel biology was the right fit. She says she wasn杏吧专区檛 interested in medicine, but wanted to be in a health-related field.
Through the online HPW program, she found the chance to explore a number of career opportunities from corporate wellness to community health promotion as a health educator or community health worker.
杏吧专区淭he curriculum does a good job of exploring potential career paths so you have an idea of what to pursue after graduation,杏吧专区 she says. 杏吧专区淭he program has a very broad area of study so it really gives you the opportunity to pursue your specific interests. ...The program showed me there were a lot of opportunities to pursue health education careers.杏吧专区
The online format also fit Larkins杏吧专区 busy lifestyle.
杏吧专区淚 always had multiple jobs while I was in school. So when I found out it was online, I thought it would be better for me and more flexible,杏吧专区 she says. 杏吧专区淚 like to complete work in advance, when possible, and that allowed me to have more flexibility with my work schedule and my personal time rather than having a set on-campus schedule.杏吧专区
Staying on top of coursework and an array of jobs meant staying organized. Larkins says she set daily schedules for herself to stay on track. Deadlines and assignments for each class were merged into one calendar so she never missed anything.
That system and the ability to complete coursework from anywhere kept Larkins on track to graduate even after she broke her foot.
But when she needed support, she says, she found it.
杏吧专区淢any of the online professors are still available for office hours, if you decide you would like to go in, but I杏吧专区檝e found they have been really available to me via emails and phone calls,杏吧专区 she says. 杏吧专区淭hey杏吧专区檙e flexible with their online students because they know many of them are working during the day.
杏吧专区淭hey really set it up so that you can be successful.杏吧专区
That includes preparation for the Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES) exam. Larkins passed her exam in May 2018, earning her CHES certification.
杏吧专区淲ith any degree that comes with the opportunity for credentialing, I think it杏吧专区檚 very important to take the exam, especially since the program does a really good job to prepare you for it,杏吧专区 she says. 杏吧专区淚t just felt natural to take the exam once I graduated, almost as a culminating exercise after everything I had worked on.杏吧专区
The relationships Larkins built with faculty and advisors have persisted as she杏吧专区檚 continued to advance her education through the Master杏吧专区檚 in Kinesiology program in Sports Management, Recreation, and Health Promotion.
Larkins works as a graduate assistant with Dr. Susan Lyman, kinesiology professor, who杏吧专区檚 continued to guide Larkins in her interest in becoming a research professor.
杏吧专区淚杏吧专区檝e connected to her for a number of reasons,杏吧专区 Larkins says. 杏吧专区淪he serves as a mentor to me in many ways.杏吧专区
True to form, Larkins divides her time among not only her graduate studies and assistantship, but also as a clinical research coordinator, screening patients and collecting data, for a blood pressure study in conjunction with a private university.
Larkins will soon begin comparing doctoral programs. She says she杏吧专区檒l begin applying in order to transition immediately from the master杏吧专区檚 program to Ph.D. studies.
Since coming to the 杏吧专区 six years ago, Larkins says she杏吧专区檚 fallen in love with the culture and support she杏吧专区檚 found through HPW and beyond.
杏吧专区淚杏吧专区檇 love to come back in the future and teach at UL,杏吧专区 she says. 杏吧专区淚 love the family environment. It杏吧专区檚 just a very homey place. Everyone is so nice, and they really take the time to impact each student on an individual level even though it is a big school.
杏吧专区淚杏吧专区檓 hoping the same impact the professors at UL had on me, I can have on future students.杏吧专区
Request more information about exploring opportunities available through a bachelor杏吧专区檚 in Health Promotion and Wellness online.