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When Marcela Mu帽oz arrived in the U.S., she wasn't planning on pursuing public health. In fact, her journey to USF鈥檚 (COPH) has taken her across countries, careers and academic disciplines, each experience building on the last to shape the public health professional she is becoming today.

Now pursuing a while simultaneously completing a master's degree in anthropology, Mu帽oz has discovered that the fields she has spent decades exploring all point toward the same goal: helping communities thrive.

"I didn't know everything could come together," she said. "Now my three degrees have melted together in one amazing pot."

Originally from Colombia, Mu帽oz earned her bachelor's degree in psychology before building a successful career in organizational psychology. For more than 20 years, she consulted with companies on leadership development, quality management and organizational improvement, helping businesses strengthen workplace culture and performance.

As she worked with organizations throughout Colombia and later Venezuela, one realization continually surfaced.

"I realized that each culture in each organization had to be understood to make it change toward quality and improvement," she said. "Culture came through so many places, and I wanted to deepen my knowledge."

That curiosity eventually led her to anthropology.

After relocating to the United States, Mu帽oz first enrolled in English courses at Broward College. During conversations with one of her professors, she mentioned an interest in sociology.

"He told me, 'You're not interested in sociology. You're interested in anthropology,'" she recalled with a laugh.

The professor believed in her so strongly that he successfully petitioned to teach her a one-on-one ethnography course after it was no longer offered. The experience confirmed she had found the right path.

"He was right," she said. "The class was about a research method used in anthropology and other social sciences to understand how people live, think and interact within their own cultural or social environments. I knew that was what I wanted to study."

As Mu帽oz prepared to transfer to a university, another life-changing decision unfolded alongside her academic plans. Her daughter was graduating from high school, and because they shared an international student visa, they needed to choose a university together.

"I told her, 'You choose wherever you want, and I'll go there,'" Mu帽oz said.

After visiting USF, her daughter fell in love with the university's nationally recognized marketing program. Both mother and daughter applied and were accepted. They eventually celebrated graduation together, with her daughter earning a degree from the Muma College of Business, while Mu帽oz completed her bachelor's degree in anthropology. Her youngest child has followed suit and is currently studying to earn a psychology degree from USF as well.

While completing her undergraduate degree, Mu帽oz immersed herself in research alongside anthropology faculty mentors Dr. Hugh "Humo" Green and Dr. Nancy Romero-Daza. Working at the 15th Street Farm in St. Petersburg, Fla., she helped educate children in underserved communities about nutrition, gardening and healthy living.

"It was an amazing project," she said. "Teaching kids how to grow food and introducing them to nutrition and wellness while helping them discover that being outside is wonderful."

The experience inspired her honors thesis and reinforced her passion for community-based work.

Her introduction to public health came through another unexpected opportunity.

After graduation, Dr. Romero-Daza connected Mu帽oz with the COPH鈥檚 , professor in the , who was seeking someone fluent in Spanish to help translate educational materials for a's public health research training programs.

At first, Mu帽oz expected to simply translate words. Instead, she said she found herself translating ideas across cultures.

"I was translating not only the language but also the cultural setting," she said. "Then I started translating the qualitative research methods, and I thought, 'Wow, public health is amazing.'"

Until then, she said her perception of public health had been largely limited to epidemiology and laboratory science. Working closely with community-engaged research introduced her to another side of the profession that blended behavioral science, culture, education and health promotion.

She knew she had found her next academic home.

Today, Mu帽oz said one of her favorite aspects is the COPH鈥檚 collaborative approach to teaching.

"In many graduate programs, you only have one professor for a class," she said. "Here, you learn from several professors throughout the semester. You get to see all their different areas of expertise, and it's so eclectic. It's amazing."

Those different perspectives have only strengthened her belief that anthropology and public health naturally complement one another.

"Anthropology helps you understand people and culture," she said. "Public health helps communities become healthier. You have to understand people before you can help them thrive."

She now sees her previous career through an entirely new lens.

"The methods I used in my professional career are the same methods we use to work with communities," she said. "People can have agency to change their environments and behaviors so they can live healthier lives."

Outside the classroom, Mu帽oz continues building that experience through research. She currently works on nutrition-focused community projects, including Fresh Start, a family-centered nutrition intervention that teaches parents and children healthy cooking skills together, and another initiative supporting children with autism.

As an international student balancing graduate school with raising a family of college students, Mu帽oz says one of her proudest accomplishments has been maintaining an outstanding academic record despite the rigor of the program.

"When you're older, you appreciate your grades differently," she said. "The professors keep pushing you, and I want to keep learning."

She credits the COPH faculty for creating an environment that is both academically demanding and incredibly supportive.

"The program is dynamic, professional and rigorous," she said. "Even the subjects I thought I wouldn't enjoy, like epidemiology, the professors were patient and kind. They helped me learn."

Looking ahead, Mu帽oz hopes to continue working with diverse communities where she can combine her expertise in psychology, anthropology and public health to improve health outcomes. Fluent in Spanish and experienced in cross-cultural engagement, she hopes her unique background will allow her to serve communities wherever she is needed most.

"I don't have one specific destination," she said. "Wherever life takes me, I want to work with communities."

For future students considering graduate school or even a career change later in life, Mu帽oz offers simple but powerful advice:

"Don't think you鈥檒l never be able to do it," she said. "We can always do whatever we choose to do."