Mardieh Dennis-Class of 2009
Mardieh Dennis is one of our Spring 2009 graduates who participated in a plethora of activities while on campus. Originally from Reston, Virginia, Mardieh truly made Penn's campus her home. During her Penn career Mardieh was the President of Black Student League, Co-membership chair of Onyx, a member of the New Spirit of Penn Gospel Choir, and a big sister in Big Brothers & Big Sisters of America program. We were happy to have Mardieh speak with us this month and we hope her responses to our questions have an impact on you.
What are you up to now and what would you ideally be doing with your master’s degree?
Right now, I'm at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health getting my master's in international health and health systems. Ideally, I'll be saving the world... but I will settle for working with NGOs and Ministries of Health in Africa to develop strategies to improve health care delivery and population health status.
Did you find it difficult moving out of Philadelphia (and in to Baltimore)?
The idea of moving out of Philadelphia after graduation was a delight until I realized that I would be moving to Baltimore! There are some cool parts of Baltimore but moving here has surprisingly made me miss Philadelphia.
One thing you miss most about Penn? Onyx?
The thing I miss most about Penn is the people. It's so weird to go from living within a couple blocks of all of your friends and seeing them every day to not seeing them for months at a time. Onyx helped me to build relationships with people I didn't necessarily know very well before joining and I definitely miss my Onyx fam!
Any advice for underclassmen?
If you want to get the most out of your college experience, you have to do something other than just studying (and partying). You can join a performing arts group, tutor middle schoolers, play intramural sports, whatever—just make sure you get involved.
Campus eatery you miss the most?
Tough call. I'm going to have to go with New Deck. Cheap, greasy, and good.
Biggest difference from undergrad to a masters program, or biggest difference between the two types of students?
In my opinion, being an undergrad in the College focused more on acquiring knowledge and learning how to think about things and grad school has been more about acquiring tangible skills. For those in doubt, Penn definitely prepares you well for grad school.