Health Communication is a rapidly developing field in the regional healthcare industry. In NKU's program you'll be prepared for communication related positions involving such areas as patient advocacy, health education, community health work, care coordination between multiple providers, media campaigns, branding, and web and mobile messaging.
The first Health Communication major graduate is the Fall 2019 Commencement speaker!
Tierra Baldwin was born in Orlando, Florida, and raised in Lexington,Kentucky. As a student here at NKU, Baldwin is honored and blessed to be the first graduate of the Health Communication program in the College of Informatics with a secondary concentration in health care ethics and policy. Growing up, Baldwin always had a passion for helping others, but it was only a matter of time before she realized that she needed to live out of her comfort zone and start doing things that would unleash her true potential. She decided to declare her major in health communication because she wanted to challenge herself, try something new, and most of all, she wanted to invest in a career that she knew would be invaluable to the health care industry to change lives for the better.
For her future, she hopes to inspire others to live more fulfilling, healthy and active lifestyles. She would also like to continue to work within local communities across the U.S. to help address the importance of effective health communication while promoting efforts to improve health and well-being. With an emphasis on the importance of patient and health advocacy, she believes there is much more that can be accomplished to reach higher standards of quality care and service.
During her time at NKU, Baldwin has been involved in various organizations and extracurricular activities, including: Health Professions Club, NKU R.O.C.K.S, Lambda Pi Eta (honor society of the National Communication Association), Ethics Bowl 2019, TRIO Student Support Services, peer mentor for the Campbell County Drug-Free Alliance Summit at NKU and student representative for the faculty search committee for the health communication department. She has also had the wonderful opportunity to contribute to the analysis and write-up of a research article on disability health care under Medicaid with Dr. Whittney Darnell. This article has been accepted into the National Communication Association Conference. Her experience at NKU has allowed Baldwin to make positive change and potentially inspire others to take a leap of faith and dare to make a difference. She has encountered many obstacles in her life, but she believes that with faith and determination anything is possible.
NKU students are gaining professional experience with area organizations such as St. Elizabeth Healthcare, Cincinnati Children's Hospital, and the Northern Kentucky Health Department
Assistant Professor,
Health Communication
GH 547
859-572-1329
darnellw1@nku.edu
