Jennifer Lafortune – a third-year student majoring in Public Health – recently received the Florida State University Women’s Student Union’s Resilient Award at their annual Legacy Banquet.
“Over this past year, I’ve had the privilege to work on the Women’s History Month committee and co-plan so many incredible events,” Lafortune said. “I had the opportunity to connect with incredible women and collaborate to create some amazing events for the whole FSU community. This experience was nothing short of amazing and it was an even greater honor to be recognized among my peers.”
Lafortune has been extensively involved on campus over the last few years at FSU. She’s been a part of Black Women in Medicine, the Alliance for Black Women, Surge FSU, the 1910 Honorary, Pi Gamma Mu Social Sciences Honor Society, and the Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program.
The experience she’ll remember the most fondly however is her role as a freshman mentor for the Graduation & Strategies Planning Department. It was a role that suited her perfectly as she came to campus already with her Associate of Arts degree after taking dual enrollment classes as a high school senior.
“I was able to take my own experience as a freshman entering FSU with an AA degree and provide current freshmen, also entering with an AA degree, with advice and support them as they navigated through their first year on a college campus,” she said. “I was incredibly honored to have been trusted with being a part of their college experience and proud that I was able to take on this leadership role.”
Originally from Port-au-Prince, Haiti, she graduated high school in Miami after moving there when she was four years old. She decided to move north again to Tallahassee for college because of the culture and opportunities she saw at FSU.
“I chose to attend FSU because of the strong student pride on campus,” Lafortune said. “It was nice to see how much the students and faculty loved FSU and I wanted to be a part of this amazing community. I also chose to attend FSU because of the ample research opportunities that are on campus. Learning during lectures and then utilizing that same information in real-life situations was incredibly fascinating.”
She’s now on track to graduate in just three years with a Bachelor’s in Public Health and a minor in Chemistry. Upon graduating, she plans on getting a Master’s in Public Health before attending medical school with the ultimate hope of becoming a pediatrician.
“My time at FSU has prepared me for the next step in my career because I have been able to acquire real-life applicable skills,” she said. “Whether it be my experience in research or leadership, FSU allowed me to do work outside the classroom and push myself to continuously reach my fullest potential.”
For more information about FSU’s Public Health program, visit coss.fsu.edu/publichealth.