Saying ‘yes’ early: Lauren Roehr finds opportunity through Public Health

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Feb. 5, 2026) — When Lauren Roehr arrived on campus as a first-year student, she didn’t expect that an “accidental” introduction to public health would shape her academic path so quickly — or so deeply. What she did bring with her, however, was a willingness to say “yes,” ask questions and apply for opportunities even when she wasn’t sure she was ready. 

Now a sophomore in the University of Kentucky College of Public Health, Roehr is already building a resume that includes interdisciplinary research, a competitive federal internship, and hands-on projects aimed at improving care for children, families and military communities — experiences she sought out by taking chances early and often. 

Originally from Northern Virginia, about 45 minutes outside Washington, D.C., Roehr knew she wanted to pursue medicine at the University of Kentucky, but not necessarily the degree path she would take. That is, until she attended a Big Blue Open House before her senior year of high school. 

“I was originally going to study biology, do your typical pre-med kind of journey,” she said. “My parents and I accidentally signed up for a public health session, and then when we went, we were learning more about it, and we were like, ‘Oh wow, this is really cool.’” 

What stood out immediately was the College of Public Health’s smaller size and welcoming culture — one where students were encouraged to explore and reach out. 

“You get a lot more one-on-one attention,” Roehr said. “And they’re like, ‘You can do pre-med with this.’” 

That openness mattered. For Roehr, who hopes to attend medical school and become a military physician, public health offered a broader lens — one that emphasized prevention, population-level thinking and practical impact. 

“With me wanting to go military, my dad was kind of like, ‘Okay, well, I think this could be really helpful for you when you’re dealing with people from many different walks of life in the military,’” she said. “Looking at populations as a whole and figuring out why exactly we are having these problems.” 

She also appreciated that public health pushed learning beyond the classroom. 

“I like seeing health in action,” Roehr said. “Public health has more of that. It’s practice-focused.” 

That mindset — combined with encouragement from faculty — led Roehr to apply for a competitive opportunity earlier than many students would consider. The summer after her freshman year, she interned with the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS), the nation’s only federal health professions academy. (Roehr has no affiliation with USUHS.) 

“It was definitely a little bit of a shock that I was able to obtain the internship, especially since I was a freshman,” she said. “I did have that kind of impostor syndrome at first, but it was great. I got to do a lot of work on many different projects.” 

At USUHS, Roehr worked with the family medicine department on clinically based research projects that allowed her to incorporate her public health education and perspectives. She gained exposure to the full research process — from literature reviews and data coding to seeing how projects move from start to finish — and shadowed physicians to better understand the military health care system. 

“It very much felt like, ‘Okay, this is actually what I want to be doing, and I really like this,’” she said. “It provided me insight into what kind of doctor I want to be.” 

Back at UK, Roehr continued to seek out opportunities that allowed her to work across disciplines. As a participant in the Dean’s Interprofessional Honors Colloquium, she collaborated with students from dentistry, nursing, medicine and pastoral care on a trauma-informed patient care project focused on child abuse. 

For the group’s final project, Roehr helped create a database concept that uses hashing algorithms to generate unique identifiers while protecting patient anonymity. The goal was to help providers identify potential repeat cases of child abuse across counties without sharing identifying information — especially in situations where clinicians may be unsure whether abuse has occurred. 

“For about every case that does go reported, there are about two to three that don’t,” Roehr said. “So, we are trying to reduce that statistic.” 

The project is ongoing, and Roehr plans to continue working on it alongside other interprofessional team members. 

Roehr also presented research at the College of Public Health Showcase in Spring of 2025 through the Aspiring Researchers Group, where she shared a poster comparing urban versus rural community health center engagement in three core public health activities. That experience led her to connect with faculty mentor Rachel Hogg-Graham, Dr.P.H., and pursue independent research last semester. This semester she’s working with Janie Cambron to develop a student training matrix for future student deployment teams — another step she might not have taken without encouragement to reach out. 

She credits the College of Public Health with making research feel accessible rather than intimidating. 

“I originally thought research was sitting at a lab bench, pipetting things,” Roehr said. “And I realized that research is so much more than that. What the College of Public Health is really good at is making things approachable for people. They want to help you in any way they can.” 

Outside the classroom, Roehr stays busy as a member of the Student Public Health Association, a cycling instructor with Campus Recreation, a peer mentor for the Creative Arts Living Learning Program and a musician in the Philharmonia Orchestra. She also recently co-founded and is the vice president of Military Medical Communities at UK, with the hopes of spreading more awareness about military medicine throughout the UK community, while also fostering mentorship, philanthropy and enrichment opportunities. 

Looking ahead, her goals remain clear, though more refined. She plans to pursue family medicine, integrating prevention-focused public health principles into clinical care. 

“Instead of prescribing you medication, maybe… let’s make these lifestyle changes,” she said. 

Ultimately, Roehr hopes to combine clinical work, teaching and research. But her biggest takeaway is less about a specific title and more about mindset. 

Her advice to other undergraduates is simple: be brave enough to try. 

“The worst they can say is no,” Roehr said. “Honestly, most of the time they say yes.” 

She encourages students to attend office hours, reach out to faculty, and apply for opportunities — even if they feel underqualified. 

“Say ‘yes’ to as much as you can,” she said. “Just apply for it and see what happens.” 

For Roehr, those early yeses — and the courage behind them — have already opened doors she didn’t know existed.