“While I don’t think I could have forecast how much my ENCIP experiences meant to me, I ended up choosing ENCIP for the opportunities to work and be embedded with a public health department that was deeply entwined with the community, and to experience a new part of America that I hadn’t really encountered before.”
Ralph Lawton
ENCIP Intern Summer of 2017 | MD-PhD Candidate in Economics and Health Policy at Harvard class of 2025 | Duke Class of 2020
The ENCIP program ended up playing a pivotal role in my personal and career path. On a personal note, I still talk frequently with my cohort from the ENCIP summer, and consider them among my closest friends. Being in a place like Tarboro has a way of making everyone be mentally and personally present, in a way that brings you together very quickly. On a professional note, I was exposed to role models in medicine and public health that shaped the kind of physician and person I wanted to be – modeling the kind of complementary medical and community leader that enabled them to really have an impact. Finally, the opportunities in Tarboro were ‘right-sized’ for an student looking to push their boundaries. The community is large and diverse enough that you grapple with social issues we talk about on a national scale, but small enough that you work with leaders who are deeply in touch with the community and will really work with you to make an impact. My understanding of the socioeconomic forces that affect medicine grew immensely, and working in the County Health department I began to learn the skills of how to link research, policy, and practice to improve health outcomes.