Chelsea Seaver Lodge faced a difficult dilemma: After being accepted at every graduate school she applied to — including Harvard University, Johns Hopkins University, UNC Chapel Hill, University of California, Los Angeles and Tufts University — Lodge had to choose one.

“I was overwhelmed,” said Lodge, a 2020 Stetson alumni who majored in Public Health (now PUBH.)

Choosing Harvard

She visited each campus, interacting with current students and professors, and was particularly interested in the Master of Public Health in Nutrition and Dietetics program at Chapel Hill, which prepares students for careers in clinical nutrition or public health and community leadership.

“But it just didn’t feel right,” she said. “I didn’t feel the connection there, because most of the students had gone straight from being an undergraduate to a graduate student. Both, Johns Hopkins and Harvard, require two years of work experience to even be considered as an applicant.”

Ultimately, she decided to enroll in the Master of Public Health program at Harvard.

“I felt so inspired by the students I met, there,” she explained. “They had already accomplished so much. I thought these are the people I want to be my classmates. Harvard also offered me financial support. I got a 50 percent scholarship and that sealed the deal.”

Stetson’s Lasting Impact

While still a student at Stetson, Lodge landed an internship with the Florida Department of Health-Volusia (DOH) working on community-related projects focused on public health nutrition. After graduation, she was employed by the same office as a Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) education coordinator until she moved to California with her husband, Caleb, a coastal engineer with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. 

There, she has been a FoodCorps Service member and worked with the Garden School Foundation to provide gardening education to students at a title I school in Los Angeles. For the past year, she’s worked as an AmeriCorps Health Fellow at the Venice Family Clinic to work on food-insecurity-related projects. 

“I do have to credit Dr. Asal Johnson, PhD, for her encouragement to get me to apply,” Lodge said with a smile. “She told me to take a chance. I don’t think I would be where I am today if I hadn’t attended Stetson. All you need is one person to see your potential and offer encouragement. She saw the potential in me.”

Indeed, Johnson — Associate Professor of Public Health — was impressed by Lodge’s commitment to personal and professional growth. 

“In 2017, I had my students volunteer at the Spring Hill Community Garden,” Johnson said. “Chelsea became a frequent volunteer as a first-year student. I was her professor for several courses: Health and Human Rights, Epidemiology, Global Health, Public Health and the Built Environment, and Statistics. She was also a teaching assistant for one of my classes in 2018.” 

Making a Difference

In addition, Lodge showed great interest in urban renewal projects in America and applied for a summer grant in 2018 to work on the preservation of DeLand’s abandoned Wright building — which In 1919, was a central location for bustling African American businesses in the Spring Hill community. She was awarded the competitive Stetson University Research Experience (SURE) grant. Her responsibilities included conducting archival research and reaching out to long-term residents of the community for semi-structured interviews.

Lodge’s work on the project was utilized as part of a proposal to apply for a $100,000 grant from the National Trust for Historic Preservation. A presentation of this work won an APHA (American Public Health Association) Student Achievement Poster Award for Excellence in Environmental Justice. This poster was presented in collaboration with other PUBH students — Julia Finver, Victoria Crawford and Tahira Perry. 

Johnson stayed in touch with her former student after Lodge graduated in 2020.

“I have had an opportunity to observe her as an undergraduate student, and as a professional practitioner,” Johnson said. “She found her calling and devoted herself to it.”

While excited about her new opportunities, Lodge admits that her move from Los Angeles to Boston is also a bit daunting.

“It’s very bittersweet,” she said, noting that her husband (and high school sweetheart) will remain working in California. “But it’s only a three-semester program at Harvard, with breaks. I’m not sure what doors of opportunity might be open to me after that. Hopefully, I can leave a mark in the world.”

– Renee Garrison