The Department of Public Health Sciences is proud to have two MPH students on the UVA Women’s Rowing Team! Ryleigh Katstra is an MPH student following the Research in Practice concentration, and Sydney Fratamico is in her final year of the 4+1 MPH program also in the Research in Practice concentration. Ryleigh and Sydney are navigating to make serious waves in public health!
Ryleigh is a graduate transfer rower who graduated from Duke University with a BS in Neuroscience. Her undergraduate thesis investigated the impact of the college athlete lifestyle on EEG brain scans, which piqued her interest in the effects of nature on health, especially how the brain responds to one’s environment and lived experiences. She decided to return to her hometown roots in Charlottesville to pursue an MPH with Research concentration at UVA to gain a better understanding of healthcare systems, how the world around us impacts our lives and health, and to prepare for a career in pediatric neuroscience research. Post graduation, she will move back to Durham to work at Duke Hospital in neurodiagnostics.
Sydney began her athletic career as a walk-on during her second year at UVA, earning a graduate year of eligibility. Sydney lived for a time
in Mexico City and experienced the healthcare system there, and after returning to the States, she volunteered at clinics for migrant farmworkers in Connecticut. These two experiences led her into public health and medicine to try to better understand healthcare access and systemic barriers in the U.S. and globally. Sydney continues her involvement with underserved communities as a Spanish-speaking interpreter at the Charlottesville Free Clinic and is applying to medical school. Her athletic commitments, work outside of the classroom, and her coursework in the MPH program are crucial in shaping her understanding of health beyond the clinical setting and preparing for a career as a physician.