Student Life

Being self-starters, community health majors launched Public Health Jaguars in January 2025. This student club’s mission is “to promote public health awareness, education, and advocacy within the TAMUSA community.” Moreover, the Public Health Jaguars “aim to empower students to lead healthier lives, foster healthy solutions for all, and address pressing public health challenges both locally and globally.”

Click here for more information about the Public Health Jaguars Student Organization.

To strengthen career-readiness, the community health program challenges all students to undertake internships, acquiring hands-on work experience at a local health, social service or research unit. While community health faculty can assist in identifying a potential internship via ties with local agencies and organizations (e.g., University Health, YMCA), they strongly encourage majors to take the lead in securing a placement that matches students’ own strengths and interests.

Further career-building experiences are available to community health students through directed research, under faculty mentorship. Past student-engaged research has included implementing and assessing Bingocize®, a project to improve individual wellbeing and quality of life among residents at certified nursing facilities, combining gameplay and movement.

Future student-engaged projects will involve the study of  environmental health issues on San Antonio’s Southside, including exposures to PFAS (“forever chemicals”) and micro-nano plastics through the food supply, and their impacts on chronic disease.  

Public Health Jaguars consider giving back to the community as part of their mandate. An example of their community service efforts in 2025 focused on improving food security. They volunteered with the Pre-Health Society at the San Antonio Food Bank, preparing over 3,000 food items to help address food insecurity in local elementary schools

In May 2025, Nate González walked the commencement stage as the first graduate of the community health program. In August 2025, he entered graduate school at Texas A&M University - College Station to pursue a Master of Public Health in Environmental and Occupational Health. He is keen to investigate the impact of environmental exposures and workplace conditions on community health outcomes. By applying learning in the community and collaborating with leading researchers, Nate intends to advance public health solutions across Texas and beyond – especially those that strengthen vulnerable populations and make environments healthier.