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Sylvia Haigh ’16 – Sophomore Career Connections Mentor Directory

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Sylvia Haigh ’16

Company / School: Boston University School of Public Health

Position / Degree: Doctoral Student

Overview

Doctoral Student, Boston University School of Public Health
Boston, MA

  • BA, Science, Technology, and Society, Vassar College
  • MPH, Health Services Research, Brown University School of Public Health
  • Pending Doctorate, Policy, Leadership, and Management, Boston University School of Public Health

With over seven years of combined experience in scientific research and public health implementation work across academic and federal institutions, Sylvia Haigh (she/her) brings a multidisciplinary perspective to addressing complex population health challenges. She earned her BA from Vassar in 2016, majoring in Science, Technology, and Society with a minor in Chinese. In 2020, she received a Master of Public Health from the Brown University School of Public Health, concentrating in health services research. From 2021 to 2025, Sylvia served as a research project manager and qualitative analyst at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in Providence, Rhode Island. In this role, she has led a variety of studies focused on social determinants of health, behavioral and mental health, and health equity among high-risk Veteran populations. A central research interest of hers is understanding and addressing the unique health risks faced by individuals in the LGBTQ+ community. In September, Sylvia began her Doctorate in public health at Boston University, where she aims to bridge research and practice to advance health outcomes and promote equity for LGBTQ+ individuals and other historically underserved communities.

Advice to Students: 

Trust the process, and just keep showing up to learn. Your career path won’t always feel clear, and it’s completely normal not to know yet how your major, classes, or internships will eventually fit together. What helped me was simply choosing the next thing that genuinely interested me—anything that sparked excitement or curiosity. Following those choices led me into an interdisciplinary path that fits me really well. I was never someone who wanted to focus on just one thing, and that’s okay. Exploring different areas can be a strength, and it can lead you to opportunities you didn’t even know existed.

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