From Policy to Pantry: Robinson Champions Community Health

Each year, UTHealth Houston School of Public Health welcomes a new alumni class, culminating in over 10,000 trained graduates. Since 1967, each graduating class has established itself to support the school's mission of advancing public health for all. The School of Public Health welcomes its newest class of over 250 graduates from its five academic departments. 

Department of Management, Policy, and Community Health 

Lawrence Robinson, completing his Master of Public Health (MPH) in Community Health Practice, has sought to influence health systems and policies to improve the health of our communities. For Robinson, public health is a calling to use classroom-based lessons and evidence-based implementations to make a difference in population health. 

"The need to have public health experts guide policymakers in creating solutions rooted in health equity across marginalized groups is why I decided to pursue public health as a career," shared Robinson. Since joining the School of Public Health, Robinson has served as an Archer Fellow in Washington, DC, and led The Cupboard, a student-based food pantry. These positions have enabled him to participate and interact directly with theory to practice experiences. As an Archer Fellow, Robinson was able to see and engage with policy makers to implement health related legislation at the federal level, and working with the Cupboard, provided him a firsthand experience at managing a community resource and engaging with community members. 

As a student studying community health, these experiences have impacted his experience as a student and the lens through which he views public health. Now more than ever, communities are experiencing food insecurity, among other health inequities, and effective policy and implementation efforts need to be made to address the root causes of these issues. 

Through his experience as a graduate student and new-found perspective, Robinson became further engaged and responsive to the challenges he was witnessing. This prompted him to collaborate with Every Texan, where he helped co-author an article ,"Why Food is Medicine Initiatives Are Important in Addressing Food Insecurity". The publication highlighted the rise of food insecurity in Texas and how food as medicine policies and programs can help curve this epidemic. 

Robinson recommends that future graduates seek new opportunities: "Seek discomfort, surround yourself with many different people and experiences, and always say yes to each opportunity even if you are unsure yourself."