![\"Graduation](\"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Graduation-Cap_blue-500x500-e1586882554282.png\")
<\/a>CELEBRATING SUCCESS:<\/strong> During this time when we cannot come together to celebrate our graduates, UToledo is recognizing the Class of 2020 with a series of feature stories on students who received their degrees during our Dec. 6 virtual commencement ceremony<\/a>.<\/p><\/div>\n Konopka earned her master\u2019s degree in public health from UToledo last spring and graduated in December from UToledo with a master of science in occupational health.<\/p>\n Since August, when she was hired as an epidemiologist at the Wood County Health Department, she\u2019s been learning about the daily life of a public health professional firsthand.<\/p>\n Thrust into the middle of the COVID pandemic, Konopka does contact tracing, working closely with Bowling Green State University, where she earned her undergraduate degree. She also reports the numbers of COVID cases in the county schools. She works overtime every week, supporting her colleagues in healthcare who are struggling.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople with COVID struggle mentally,\u201d she said. \u201cBeing that person to call and check in is important for me.\u201d<\/p>\n UToledo set her up perfectly for her job, Konopka said.<\/p>\n \u201cI gained an understanding of serving the community,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n When she was an undergraduate, Konopka was one of 10 students selected from across the country to participate in UToledo\u2019s National Science Foundation Research Experience for Undergraduates. She spent a summer conducting research at the Lake Erie Research Center.<\/p>\n While surveying residents about how algal blooms impacted their recreational activity on Lake Erie, Konopka worked with UToledo faculty mentors, Dr. April Ames and Dr. Michael Valigosky.<\/p>\n Ames, an assistant professor of public and occupational health, introduced Konopka to public and occupational health and eventually became her faculty advisor.<\/p>\n \u201cAshleigh was eager to learn and meet others in the occupational and public health fields. She enjoyed mentoring local high school students who were learning about and evaluating air quality,\u201d Ames said. \u201cAshleigh\u2019s positive attitude and determination were appreciated by all through her tenure in the program and will contribute to her career success.\u201d<\/p>\n