{"id":226744,"date":"2025-12-10T16:10:38","date_gmt":"2025-12-11T02:10:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=226744"},"modified":"2025-12-12T14:20:12","modified_gmt":"2025-12-13T00:20:12","slug":"father-and-daughter-mph-journey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2025\/12\/10\/father-and-daughter-mph-journey\/","title":{"rendered":"Father and daughter share Master of Public Health journey"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
\"terry
Father\u2013daughter duo Terry and Cynthia Chan<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Terence “Terry” Chan is in his final semester of the Master of Public Health (MPH<\/abbr>) program at the University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> at M\u0101noa, while his daughter, Cynthia Chan, has just started the same degree.<\/p>\n

“As a parent, it’s great and you can be supportive. Having gone through the classes prior, you can put things into perspective,” said Terry. “For example, biostatistics was tough so mentally I want to prepare her for that.”<\/p>\n

Both are enrolled in the Department of Public Health Sciences at the <\/a>Thompson School of Social Work & Public Health<\/a>, but from different places: Terry is earning his degree 5,000 miles away in Michigan through the Distance Education (DE<\/abbr>) program, and Cynthia attends classes on the UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa campus.<\/p>\n

Family commitment to keep community health<\/h2>\n
\"cynthia
Cynthia Chan with her father, Terry, at her graduation ceremony.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Terry, a pediatric dentist of 25 years, joined the inaugural DE<\/abbr> cohort in 2022 to expand his understanding of health beyond clinical practice. Cynthia, who earned her BS<\/abbr> in psychology at UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa in 2024, pursued the MPH<\/abbr> to pair clinical knowledge with a population–level perspective.<\/p>\n

He originally hoped to graduate alongside Cynthia, but the pandemic, his dental practice and securing a practicum site extended his timeline. He ultimately completed his practicum with the Pacific Institute of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> on the Big Island, examining oral health outcomes and the dental workforce.<\/p>\n

Cynthia, still completing coursework, plans to focus her career on the intersections of clinical care and public health. Her year at the Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> State Department of Health helped shape that interest, but watching her father advance through the program also strengthened her decision.<\/p>\n

“It was motivating to see him do that and that I could do that too,” said Cynthia.<\/p>\n

Despite holding multiple advanced degrees, Terry says the MPH<\/abbr> broadened his understanding of the systems that keep communities healthy.<\/p>\n

“The public health program has been eye opening,” he said. “A big takeaway is the need to work with legislators and being a voice in the community and a champion for causes… It’s pretty intense.”<\/p>\n

Having attended three other higher education institutions, Terry also credits UH<\/abbr> for providing his most meaningful academic experience. “People can say Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> has the ʻohana spirit, but here at M\u0101noa you can really feel it,” he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Terry and Cynthia Chan share how the public health program supports students at every stage of life.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":226750,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[90,234,1224,449,596,9],"class_list":["post-226744","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-people","tag-alumni","tag-commencement","tag-distance-education","tag-public-health-sciences","tag-myron-b-thompson-school-of-social-work","tag-uh-manoa","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t