Jared T. Stokes, EdD, MA, MPH, CHES

Health promotion and health education have shaped the very foundation of my professional career. While attending The George Washington University as an undergraduate in college, my studies were based on principles and practices of Exercise Science. Majoring in this subject exposed me to various opportunities, one of which involved interning twice at a corporate recreation facility located in the Gannett/USA Today towers of McLean, Virginia. Throughout my internship experience, I recognized the importance of primary prevention with regards to health and wellbeing among various populations. This prompted me to pursue a Masters Degree in Public Health. My overall intent of pursuing a Master of Public Health Degree was to discover effective ways of instilling primary prevention techniques in differing populations across the United States. This goal was accomplished at Drexel University. While at Drexel my knowledge of Public Health theories and proper public interaction techniques dramatically increased. Of the opportunities I was involved in, my most notable experience came from conducting field research. At the culmination of my graduate school experience I decided to specialize in health outreach in adolescents and teenagers. My reasoning behind this specialization was a belief that educating children about proper health practices could help prevent the onset of future disease and chronic ailments in adulthood. This change in my professional focus led to me acquiring a Doctor of Education Degree from Teachers College, Columbia University. My experiences as a doctoral student not only enhanced my understanding of theory and practice regarding youth health disparities, but also narrowed my interests in youth studies. Now, I seek to educate youth about the media being consumed by a public audience in order to help them become more media literate. It is my belief that doing so can help steer society collectively in a positive direction.