For the past seven years, Andrea Spray was working in the corporate world at the agricultural giant, Monsanto. When she got the opportunity to involve herself in a project related to her company’s human rights policy, Andrea saw that her efforts there could have a positive impact on the lives of millions of workers around the world. 

“It snagged my heart. I loved doing qualitative research, I loved working with people, I loved doing work that mattered - work that made someone else’s life better.  I just wanted more of it.

“A friend of mine was just finishing up her MPH and through her I learned about the field of Public Health. The more I looked into the Brown School, the more excited I got. The more people I talked to, the more it seemed actually feasible. For me it was just one of those serendipitous things. I was ready for the next big thing and every step along the way it felt more and more like the right move to make.

“But ultimately what sealed the deal for me was access to financial assistance. I was awarded a full-tuition scholarship in Health Communications. Walking away from a successful career was not easy. The scholarship made it possible; indeed it made it impossible to pass up. I knew I would never again in my life have the opportunity that I had before me.”

Along with her school work and involvement in student groups, Andrea works beside her professors at the School’s Health Communication Research Laboratory as a research assistant.

“At the HCRL I get to participate in a meaningful way in research. It puts all that I’m learning in school into context. Every day I get to work with people who are living and breathing the world that I’m just learning about.