Writing Samples

- Reporting from the capital -

J-7448 Public Service Journalism: Covering State Government | Spring 2019
I wrote these articles for the Columbia Missourian covering the Missouri lawmakers making legislative news at the Capital. 
School of Health Professions | Bachelor of Health Science in Public Health 
School of Health Professions | Bachelor of Health Science in Public Health 

Public Health Student in Mizzou Homecoming Top Ten!

by Christina Mascarenas | October 19, 2018


​COLUMBIA, Mo. - Royalty has graced the Public Health program. Jane Kielhofner, a senior in the University of Missouri’s Bachelor of Public Health program, is a candidate in the 2018 Mizzou Homecoming Royalty court. Kappa Alpha Theta sponsored her homecoming nomination.

Kielhofner, a native of Springfield, MO chose Mizzou to gain some independence but still be close to home. She wanted to be around new opinions and new ways of thinking and coming to Columbia has been a great way to experience the various opportunities for growth that the university offers.

She values the support of her Public Health professors and friends who remind her of what she is capable of and encouraged her to apply to medical school. Her Public Health family means the world to her. “Sometimes you need those people to really put into perspective that you can achieve things,” Kielhofner said, “We get that Imposter Syndrome where we doubt ourselves, but I have been surrounded by these awesome people.”

Completing community service hours was a high school requirement for graduation, so Kielhofner knew going to college she wanted to continue serving others. During her time at Mizzou, Kielhofner has participated in the Kinder Scholar Institute, Alternative Breaks, an internship in Washington D.C. and various Public Health events. She was also a co-founder of the Mizzou chapter of Period: The Menstrual Movement, which has secured the donation of more than 5,000 feminine hygiene products for women who can’t afford them.

The various people she has befriended have given Kielhofner the opportunity to grow. She said they have uplifted her and challenged her in the ways she thinks and have given her an understanding and awareness of what is going on around her. When she was writing her homecoming applications, she thought all of those who have helped her to get where she is. “I want to give them each a piece of my diploma, everything I have done here is because of their encouragement. I am thankful for those people,” Kielhofner said.

Kielhofner chose Public Heath after taking a Modern Epidemics class in high school that led to her interest in healthcare. She said it was “intriguing to learn how prevention can save so much time and money and be effective, yet the United States doesn’t utilize it enough.” While in high school Kielhofner job-shadowed in a clinical setting. She was impressed with the physicians who served patients who didn’t have insurance or were under-insured. This experience was her inspiration to become a physician and gain an in-depth knowledge of women’s health and income disparities across cultures and other  groups and how education can improve patient outcomes.

Kielhofner hopes she will be a good doctor because of the tools her Pubic Health education has given her in the areas of illness prevention and community health, along with having an eye for population health instead of working solely on a patient-by-patient basis.

​Kielhofner graduates next May. She said she has been thinking of the little time she has left. “Sometimes I wish I could be in medical school already, but then I realize this is a fun part of my life. I love undergrad, the people I’ve met, and the things I get to do. My experience at Mizzou has been fulfilling and I wouldn’t trade anything. I have no regrets.”
On October 20, the 107-year Homecoming tradition continues when the queen and king are crowned during half time of the football game at Memorial Stadium. Kielhofner said it’s been an honor to be in the top ten. She would be happy for any one of the candidates to win. “They’re all great people and have made an awesome impact on campus, they have impacted so many people around them.”

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