Just What the Doctor Ordered: Student Health Director
Mentors Students
Every student hopes for a mentor, and Jennie Bailey (B.A., Health
and Community Service, ’03) found him in Pedro Douglas, director
of the California State University, Chico Student Health Center
since 2001. She had been “miserable” in her undergraduate
major, and although she had been an involved high school student
in Martinez, at CSU, Chico she “couldn’t find her niche.”
Then one day Bailey visited the Health Center and saw ways they
could improve their service. Douglas was so impressed with her initiative
that he asked her to join the Student Health Advisory Council. She
transformed the group, tripling membership and tackling difficult
issues concerning the Americans with Disabilities Act and health
insurance. Douglas urged Bailey to consider a graduate degree in
health administration. The cost seemed beyond her, but he arranged
for her to attend a professional conference in Florida, where she
met a colleague of Douglas’s from Florida International University.
The entrée led to a full-ride scholarship to FIU, where Bailey
now is working on her master’s in disease prevention and health
promotion. “Someone helped me when I was starting out,”
says Douglas. “I saw Jennie’s potential and wanted to
do what I could.”
Bailey says: “If I hadn’t gotten encouragement from
Pedro, I wouldn’t be where I am.”
Joe Wills, Public Affairs and Publications |
