{"id":14803,"date":"2026-05-08T03:45:45","date_gmt":"2026-05-08T03:45:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/2026\/05\/08\/following-the-call-of-purpose-ut-health-san-antonio\/"},"modified":"2026-05-08T03:45:45","modified_gmt":"2026-05-08T03:45:45","slug":"following-the-call-of-purpose-ut-health-san-antonio","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/2026\/05\/08\/following-the-call-of-purpose-ut-health-san-antonio\/","title":{"rendered":"Following the call of purpose – UT Health San Antonio"},"content":{"rendered":"

Newsroom
Shared By: Orith Farago<\/a>
William Garner, DrPH, MPH<\/a>, associate professor in the Department of Health Policy and Health Services Administration at The University of Texas at San Antonio\u2019s Kate Marmion School of Public Health<\/a>.
\u201cI assured Laquonda that with the right supports from her family and together with the institution, we were prepared to make this a good experience for her, a meaningful experience,\u201d Garner said.
A first-generation college student on her mother\u2019s side, Finney decided to move ahead with the in-person program and in August 2024, joined the inaugural Master of Public Health cohort of 35 students at the Marmion School of Public Health.
And she\u2019s glad she did.
\u201cI feel like in the classroom setting, especially with public health and bouncing off ideas with my cohort you get that lived experience from everyone,\u201d Finney said.
Turning research into real-world impact<\/strong>
Through the program\u2019s applied practice experience \u2014 a practical learning opportunity where students apply knowledge gained in the classroom to real-world settings \u2014 Finney has embarked on a research study with The Institute for Public Health and Education Research to explore the perceived barriers to seeking depression treatment for residents in Comal County. The study aims to address a critical gap in mental health services.
Finney\u2019s work on this study draws on her public health education and her wealth of experience as both an HIV program coordinator ensuring that patients adhere to their treatment plans and as a nurse with a trauma-informed care background, which emphasizes safety and empowerment while avoiding re-traumatization.
\u201cAs an MPH student, this lens has shaped how I approach research and population-led interventions,\u00a0ensuring the data and interventions remain rooted in dignity, equity, cultural context and lived experience,\u201d Finney said.\u00a0 \u201cI see trauma-informed care as a bridge between clinical practice and public health \u2014 connecting individual healing with community healing.\u201d
Recognizing her dedication to improving health outcomes in communities that need it most, Finney\u2019s project received a $500 research grant from the South Central Area Health Education<\/a>, a nonprofit organization dedicated to clinical training opportunities for healthcare practitioners to better address the needs of medically underserved communities.
Finney and her research team are now entering the recruitment phase of the study. Once the participants are identified, data will be collected and analyzed, and the findings will be submitted to a peer-reviewed public health or mental health journal and shared with community stakeholders to help inform\u00a0practice and policy, Finney said.
\u201cUltimately, the goal for\u00a0the findings is to support community-responsive mental health outreach strategies and help local organizations and providers to tailor services in ways\u00a0that are more accessible to residents,\u201d Finney said.
A distinctive bond among classmates<\/strong>
Being among the school\u2019s inaugural MPH cohort has been a special experience, Finney said.
\u201cAll of us lean on one another,\u201d she said. \u201cAll of us have our person in the group that we lean on a little bit more. I know I do.\u201d
It helped a great deal that the professors were also very supportive, Finney said.
\u201cThe professors respond quickly to our emails,\u201d she said. \u201cThey answer any questions. Our classes are in the evening, and I’m sure at the end of the day, when class is over, they’re ready to go home. But they’re always willing to stay behind and discuss things with us.\u201d
A future filled with possibilities <\/strong>
During the past year and a half, Finney faced some personal adversities, but stayed the course with the MPH program, remaining optimistic as she looks to a future with many possibilities. Among those is the potential pursuit of a doctorate in public health.
But before taking that next step, she plans to take some time to focus on her family.
\u201cThis pause is important to me as a way to reflect, recharge\u00a0and remain grounded in the values that drive my nursing and public\u00a0health work,\u201d Finney said.
Seeing Finney move forward with intention and added clarity has been rewarding for Garner as an educator.
\u201cThe Laquonda that I know today is definitely clearer about what she wants her contribution in public health to be,\u201d Garner said. \u201cI believe she trusts her voice in ways that she may not have known before because she took this risk for herself to pursue a Master of Public Health through an in-person program. And I think that’s so beautiful, that she was willing to do that and that she feels like we kept our promise to her in terms of being able to support her through her education. I think that’s really important.\u201d
When the time is right, Finney is confident that she will take her next steps with purpose and intention.
\u201cThere’s a lot I can do with this degree, especially as a nurse,\u201d Finney said. \u201cI can cross over anywhere.\u201d
Learn about the myriad contributions being made every day by our faculty, staff, students and residents in the areas of research, academics, patient care and community service. UT Health San Antonio’s magazines chronicle the extraordinary efforts made by so many in service to our community.
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UT Health San Antonio<\/a> is the academic health center of The University of Texas at San Antonio (UT San Antonio), offering a comprehensive network of inpatient and outpatient care facilities staffed by medical, dental, nursing and allied health professionals who conduct more than 2.5 million patient visits each year. It is the region\u2019s only academic health center and one of the nation\u2019s leading health sciences institutions, supported by the schools of medicine, nursing, dentistry, health professions, graduate biomedical sciences and public health that are leading change and advancing fields throughout South Texas and the world.
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NewsroomShared By: Orith FaragoMay 7, 2026 As a nurse, Laquonda Finney, RN, wanted to make a difference on an even larger scale.\u201cI didn’t want to stop at nursing,\u201d Finney said. \u201cI liked the idea of not being confined to a space, where I can go out within the community to see what those needs are and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14804,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-14803","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-health"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14803","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14803"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14803\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14804"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14803"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14803"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14803"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}