Positive attitude and hard work drives Meghan Ochal ’01 in her public health career
After graduating from Broadalbin-Perth in 2001, Meghan Ochal pursued her interest in public health and today, she couldn’t be happier working for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in Washington, D.C.
Meghan’s positive attitude developed during her years at Broadalbin-Perth High School where she says being surrounded by true friends, supportive teachers and her family made her realize that it doesn’t matter what the rest of the world thinks.
Meghan poses with fellow 2001 B-P graduate Megan Nevich, who visited Meghan in D.C. for President Obama’s inauguration in January 2009.
“I’m still learning this as I get older, but I think the key lesson that I learned, starting at B-P, is to be yourself and pursue what makes you happy instead of trying to comply with other people’s expectations,” she said.
After graduating from the University of Rochester with a bachelor’s degree in cultural anthropology and a minor in Spanish, Meghan pursued her interest in public health at the University at Albany where she earned a Master of Public Health (MPH) degree in social behavior/community health. While in grad school, Meghan developed an interest in many other aspects of public health, including health policy.
During graduate school, Meghan completed two internships. The first was with Family Planning Advocates, an organization in Albany, where she worked primarily on developing a program that worked with partners to promote culturally competent women’s health care for immigrant women. Her second internship was with the New York State Department of Health in the Office of Local Health Services, where her main project involved working with the local health departments to analyze workforce needs to develop and publicize strategies to promote public health careers, as well as recruit, retain and support public health workers at the local government level.
Meghan (in teal scarf) visited Chile in March 2011 as a volunteer with Educacion Popular en Salud (EPES). The group visited some of the temporary housing settlements for families whose homes were destroyed by the February 2010 earthquake and tsunami near Concepcion, Chile. EPES is working with them to rebuild.
“My internships really increased my interest in working in the public sector, and as I was about to graduate with my MPH, I applied to a few positions and programs with the federal government,” Meghan said. “I interviewed with the Emerging Leaders Program, a career and leadership development program at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and was lucky enough to be offered a position with an agency within HHS called the Health Resources and Services Administration.”
Four years later, Meghan is still in that agency working for a federal grant program that supports more than 1,100 community health centers in underserved urban and rural areas throughout the United States.
“I specifically work in the office that deals with health center policy and development of funding opportunities, and I absolutely love it!” she said.
Meghan with her family at her sister Bethany's wedding in July 2011. From left to right are Lindsay (2006 B-P grad), Meghan, Meghan’s dad William, Bethany (2003 B-P grad), Bethany’s husband Rob (also a 2003 B-P grad), Meghan’s mom Lori, and Jay (2011 B-P grad).
What does she think the most important key to her success has been?
“I’ve always been open to exploring new areas and have tried to be as adaptable as possible. I’ve enjoyed all the different positions I’ve had.”
Since studying abroad in Santiago, Chile, during her junior year of college, Meghan has been involved with a grassroots community empowerment and health organization, Educacion Popular en Salud (EPES), which was started there 30 years ago by one of her internship supervisors. She is currently involved in the U.S. component of that organization as its secretary. Meghan has also volunteered with adults in the D.C. area as a teacher of English as a Second Language.
Meghan says the teacher that most influenced her at B-P was Michael Calvello, who she had for concert band throughout middle school and high school.
“While I was definitely not the greatest flutist and haven’t done much with music since high school—sorry, Mr. C!—I thought concert band was always a fun class. Mr. C. was always joking—I just felt comfortable around him and could always ask for advice,” she said.
Meghan’s connection to Broadalbin-Perth continues to be strong today. Her parents, William and Lori, live in Broadalbin. Her brother, Jay, just graduated with the Class of 2011, and her sisters, Bethany and Lindsay, graduated from B-P in 2003 and 2006, respectively.