Myles Castro has used his Master of Public Health with a concentration in Community Health Practice from LAS to effect real change in the city of Chicago. As a Program Manager at the Sinai Urban Health Institute, he manages community health programs, projects, and research that directly impact communities all around the city.
He learned to value a community-centric approach to public health research and programs during his time in the MPH program at LAS.
Coming from a background in molecular and cellular biology, Myles knew that he wanted his graduate studies to marry his love of science with his desire to make a real-time, practical impact on the world. “I wanted to make a positive difference in the world, working with other cultures and communities. DePaul was the obvious choice because of its focus on community, social justice, and helping others.”
One of the most impactful assignments during his MPH experience was a tour activity where the class went into different communities and made observations. As a first-generation Filipino American, the activity helped Myles expand his horizons and understand the heterogeneity of the city of Chicago. “Not everyone is facing the same problems, and each community is unique.”
Although it was only one assignment, the emphasis on addressing community needs assessments—and identifying both community needs and assets—was the jumping off point in developing his approach to public health. “You can’t fully understand a community need without being inside of the community; as a researcher, this has become really important to my philosophy.” Rather than settling for the traditional separation between researchers and community members, Myles aims to “be part of, and integrated with, the communities and people I’m working with.”
Myles' focus on keeping community at the center of public health research led him to his current work at SUHI. At SUHI, his main area of focus is public safety. “Violence is an outcome of multiple community health inequities driving the symptom of violence. It’s such a multi-faceted and multi-dimensional challenge,” which drew Myles to want to be part of the solution. He has used the values and tools learned at DePaul to maximize the impact of this work at SUHI, ultimately aiming to “transform traditional research methods into more consequential research results and research activism, leading to community mobility, lifting community youth voices, and more.”
One of the programs Myles works with is the Chicago Gun Violence Research Collaborative, a multi-institutional collaborative currently housed in LAS, that works to address gun violence and better understand root causes. Myles began his work with CGVRC during his time as a DePaul student and has continued to help lead the collaborative in his capacity at SUHI.
Only five years out of his degree, Myles is part of real community change in the city of Chicago. In fact, he has been selected onto the Chicago Changemakers Honor Roll, part of an inaugural award that honors recent graduate alumni who are emerging leaders for good in the Chicago community and award highlights the power of the liberal arts and social sciences to create positive, lasting change in the world.
“Change isn’t easy, it takes a collaborative effort from different disciplines,” he shared. “One person alone can’t address the issues that have been impacting communities for generations, it takes a multitude of individuals to come together and do this work.”