SJSU Hosts Public Health Week 2025

Students at a “Lemonade Stands Up for Public Health” event at last year’s National Public Health Week @ SJSU. Photo courtesy of Anji Buckner.

From April 7-13, San José State is hosting its sixth annual National Public Health Week, a series of activities dedicated to the theory and practice of the discipline in order to highlight its opportunities for career development and civic engagement. 

The American Public Health Association (APHA) has been organizing the national event (known as National Public Health Week, or NPHW) for over 25 years. As Anji Buckner, ’04 MPH, assistant professor of public health, explains, “The spirit of NPHW is about celebrating and acknowledging the work and contributions of public health professionals in striving to improve population health.”

This year a number of events are student-led and aimed at directly engaging alumni. “One of the things I love about our NPHW events is that individually and collectively they’re designed to build community and enhance skills in the areas of career and professional development,” she adds. “We’re using the Wednesday Webinar to engage in dialogue with public health alumni leaders, ground ourselves in our strength and history as a program and share a sense of hope and resilience as the public health profession responds to the rapid changes affecting our field and our work.”

Events include a webinar about the “history, strengths and capacities” of SJSU’s public health program, featuring alumni speakers discussing the challenges of sustaining public health in complicated times; several networking opportunities; and a Public Health Day of Action on Friday, April 11, which includes three events to promote civic engagement in public health students.

Check out one or all of the Public Health Week events below and click here to register.

April 7 — Networking 101 Webinar 4 p.m. – Open to all SJSU students, hosted in collaboration with the Career Center.

April 7 — Networking Mixer 6:30 – 8 p.m. – A speed-networking event for public health students featuring professionals in public health for students to engage with.

April 9 — Webinar: “Centering and Affirming Our Public Health Commitments: A Conversation With Alumni Leaders” 1:30 – 2:45 p.m.

April 10 — MPH Virtual Panel 6:00 – 7:30 p.m. – A panel and networking event for students interested in the Master’s in Public Health (MPH) field, featuring current graduate students discussing their process selecting a program, completing the application process and adapting to graduate studies.

April 11 — Public Health Day of Action 12 – 4 p.m. including three events: Lemonade Stands Up for Public Health, Public Health Data Hackathon, and Civic Engagement Training.

1) The Lemonade Stands Up for Public Health event draws on the proverb “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” This student-department event was originally planned in March to turn feelings of helplessness into action. We are replicating the event for a second time during NPHW this year. During the event, students can write a postcard to an elected official or thank a government public health worker while enjoying some lemonade.

2) The Preserve Public Health Data Hack-a-thon will be co-hosted by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library librarians and is designed to provide a space to help those who are interested in working to preserve public health data. During the event, participants will use nationally created resources to help data preservation efforts.

3) Civic Engagement Training: The culminating NPHW event is designed to help people learn how to engage locally. This event is co-sponsored by the Human Rights Institute and will teach participants about local government and how to best use data and research to craft and deliver messages that meaningfully depict opportunities for policy change.

Learn more about National Public Health Week @ SJSU.