When Kiran Gahir (MPH ’24) was exploring ways to leverage her undergraduate degree in biology, she knew she had to prepare herself “for a job that didn’t exist yet.”

Crossing the stage during Brock’s 117th Convocation, she will be among the first graduates to have completed the University’s groundbreaking Master of Public Health and Master of Education (MPH-MEd) consecutive degree pathway. She graduated with an MPH last fall and will receive an MEd on Thursday, June 12.

Driven to amplify the voices of underrepresented communities, from families navigating autism services to Indigenous individuals seeking culturally grounded mental health care, her next steps will be towards work that helps her advocate for those most excluded from health-care access and policy-making.

“I never felt lost at Brock,” she said. “It gave me a toolkit to do whatever job I want.”

While studying, Gahir also worked as an instructor behaviour therapist and as a teaching assistant for multiple Brock courses, a combination of hands-on patient care and mentorship that grounded her academic studies in community impact.

During a placement with British Columbia Mental Health and Substance Use Services, she had the opportunity to complete a qualitative literature review on patient experience measurement tools in Canada along with several knowledge translation projects relating to anti-stigma work and demystifying concurrent disorders.

“Brock gave me the skills to get to the root of the problem,” she said. “If we aren’t targeting interventions to the right populations, it’s all trial and error.”

From her research to her field experiences, Gahir has explored the intersection of systems thinking and social equity, with a particular focus on empowering people through education, patient experience measurement, trauma-informed care and the urgent need for early intervention in autism.

“We need a holistic healing community,” she said. “Brock created a safe space for that kind of thinking.”

For fellow MPH-MEd student Ashley Henery (MPH ’24), who will also graduate with an MEd on June 12, completing the pathway creates that space by bridging two essential but often siloed fields.

“What I loved about this program is how it equips you to be both an educator and a healthcare professional. We need to keep learning in order to keep teaching,” said Henery, who has a strong interest in adult and post-secondary education.

She has worked as a clinical assistant in a pain clinic and completed an undergraduate degree in biology through Trent University’s Medical Professional Stream.

During a practicum, she developed a climate change and health vulnerability assessment for the Niagara region. The report, which involved research, stakeholder collaboration and knowledge translation, is now informing local health planning.

Her work emphasizes health literacy, particularly among specific patient populations such as those in intensive care units, and improving educational tools so people can make informed choices about their care.

Henery believes that stronger patient education and communication can lead to greater autonomy, trust, and long-term outcomes. During the COVID-19 pandemic, for example, she says blanket communications sometimes failed to address individual concerns.

“If you feel more educated, you have more moral judgment and control,” she said. “And that can change everything.”

Both Henery and Gahir say they found mentorship, purpose and a sense of belonging while completing their MPH and MEd degrees. Whether it was Gahir receiving heartfelt support from a professor or Henery forming lifelong friendships with classmates in the trenches of applied work, they are walking away with far more than two master’s degrees.

“The MPH-MEd pathway is excellent in bridging the knowledge and skills required of health educator professionals,” says Professor of Clinical Epidemiology Brent Faught.

He adds that this level of graduate health education is essential for a well-functioning health-care system, impacting both individual well-being and public health.

“Two online master’s degrees over 20 months positions Brock University as a leader in delivering a quality and efficient pathway in post-graduate health education in Canada,” he says.

Equipped with unique interdisciplinary training, Gahir and Henery will leave Brock ready to shape the future education and health care across Canada and beyond.