Laksha Thulasiram: Finding Purpose in Public Health

MPH Health and Policy Management

Laksha Thulasiram is a graduate student in the Health Policy and Management MPH program at Temple University’s Barnett College of Public Health, where her research focuses on suicide prevention policy and maternal and child health. Originally from Marlton, New Jersey, Laksha earned her undergraduate degree in social work at Temple, an experience that inspired her to pursue her master’s degree. Recently, Laksha and her classmates competed in the National Policy Super Bowl at the University of Chicago Institute of Politics, where the Temple team was named runner-up.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity. 

What degree are you pursuing and can you briefly describe the chain of events that led you to Temple?

The degree is Master of Public Health, specifically concentrating in health policy and management. What led me to the degree I'm pursuing now was doing my undergrad in social work at Temple, and during my last year of school, we had a mandatory internship. During the internship, I got a little bit more clarity on what exactly I'd like to do in the future.

I wanted to do something broader while still staying in the health realm and mental health space but on a more macro level. So that's when I decided to look at other options. I initially was in the 4+1 program to do my master's in social work, but after that experience, I decided to go into the Master of Public Health.

What do you enjoy about the program, and what opportunities are you looking forward to after completing your degree?

What I enjoy the most about the program is the exposure I'm getting right now. We have resume building workshops, and we have people from workforce development come in and tell us about potential careers that are taking off. They really do care about us being on the right foot once we graduate—they're not just giving us a degree and throwing us into the world, which is something I really love. 

Another thing I really love is that the program has shown me my potential. Whereas like before it's, you know, I'm doing school, I'm doing the work, I'm getting the good grades, but I had a professor, specifically our program director Sherief Ibrahim, who told me I could do better. I feel like that really pushed me, and I have the utmost respect for him.

You and a few other students from your college recently competed in the National Policy Super Bowl at the University of Chicago Institute of Politics. What was that experience like for you?

That experience was life-changing—the entire process of it. They really encouraged us to do this. It was a great opportunity for us to be at that scale nationally and ultimately get the chance to know students in other schools and the things that they are working on.

At Temple, there were about, I believe, 30 or 20 teams, and they were from all different departments. The judges went over all the proposals, and they picked five finalists at Temple to make a presentation based on the paper proposal for the idea. After the five teams presented, they chose a finalist from Temple to go to Chicago.

Do you mind sharing a little bit about your research?

The research I'm doing right now is analyzing suicide attempt survivors' testimonials and their stories to identify what their perspective is on the barriers they've faced, the stigma they've faced, just focusing on their perspective rather than the clinical perspective from physicians. From there, these analyses can be used to form policy recommendations, like suicide specific care interventions and expanded programming. I'm also thinking about how I can expand my research skills in other areas of public health, like maternal and child health.

Are there any mentors or people you look up to in your work?

I look up to several mentors who inspire me, including my program director, Sherief Ibrahim; my facilitators at my internship with the nonprofit NAMI, Kyle Carter and Schimen Scott; and my professors, who consistently set a strong example.

How have you felt connected to your community at Temple? Where do you find inspiration outside of school?

I love the community. I used to serve at a diner on campus. All the people that would come in there are students or staff members, even the custodial staff, and it's really nice knowing everybody and being able to meet people from all walks of life and see the temple pride that we have.

My mom is super career oriented and she's very non-traditional. Seeing the hard work that both my parents have put in, and how it's gotten them to where they are now has really inspired me all my life. I would say also my classmates and seeing all the great things that they're doing and how passionate they are. It really makes me proud to be in the MPH program, and it makes me proud to be part of that community.