On January 29, 2015, Frank Burkybile, a 2008 anthropology program graduate, discussed his work as a Public Health Analyst with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC), and internship and employment opportunities with the CDC. The presentation was held in Strong Hall through the college of humanities and public affairs.
After graduation, Frank was an AmeriCorps member and worked for few years toward HIV/AIDS prevention in Africa, before returning stateside to earn his Master’s degree in Public Health. Upon graduation he landed a position with the CDC, and is currently working with PEPFAR (The United States President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief), a government funded agency that works with many countries to provide education and treatment for HIV/AIDS. He also works with the World Health Organization and UNAIDS, two agencies with a 70 million dollar budget, which help both the CDC and PEPFAR work more closely with several countries.
The value of an anthropologist’s work with agencies like those mentioned here, has been proven over and over– and more recently during the Ebola outbreak, when the burial rituals and practices of the affected countries, which can be very different from the rituals and practices in the United States and other countries, were disrupted so that the bodies of their loved ones could be properly disposed of to help prevent further spread of the virus. Anthropologists become the interpretive link between cultures and the agencies that that provide aid.
If you are interested in a career in anthropology, you might consider looking for a position as a health/behavioral scientist, epidemiologist, gender expert, or a position in management operations at the CDC other organizations like the CDC! Contact a faculty member in the department to discuss your options or to find a way to discuss your ideas with alum like Frank Burkybile. Thanks for sharing with us Mr. Burkybile!