Health behavior student featured on ‘Dr. Oz’ describes her wellness-related work with underserved adolescents

November 30, 2016

Camille McGirt, health behavior master’s student at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health, was featured on the Emmy Award-winning “The Dr. Oz Show,” on Nov. 28.

McGirt worked in HealthCorps, a national health and wellness nonprofit organization founded by Mehmet and Lisa Oz, as a coordinator for HealthCorps’ in-school program, “The Living Labs.” In that role, she was placed in a high-needs high school in Brooklyn from 2013 to 2015 to mentor students, teach health-related workshops and promote wellness-related school activities.

Camille McGirt with Dr. Mehmet Oz

Master’s student Camille McGirt (right) appeared on “The Dr. Oz Show” on Nov. 28 to describe her activities to promote young people’s health.

She and a fellow program alumnus were invited to the television program to talk about their experiences.

Oz said McGirt was representative of the type of person who becomes a HealthCorps coordinator – “driven, energetic and committed to spreading [information about health] in [her community].”

“I congratulate [Camille] on [her] accomplishments and cannot wait to see what the future holds for [her],” Oz said.

McGirt earned a Bachelor of Science in Public Health in health policy and management at the UNC Gillings School in 2013. Among her numerous honors as an undergraduate were the University Award for the Advancement of Women, Chancellor’s Award; membership in the highest university honorary society for service, the Order of the Golden Fleece; service as a Clinton Global Initiative and Resolution Project Fellow; and recipient of UNC’s Robert E. Bryan Social Innovation Award.

Since 2011, she has served as founder and co-executive director of Healthy Girls Save the World, a nonprofit organization that provides a positive space for girls in North Carolina to foster the development of habits related to proper nutrition, physical activity, and healthy mental and physical lifestyle.

In summer 2016, McGirt served as an engineering and sciences intern with Booz Allen Hamilton, a management consulting firm in Washington, D.C. At the completion of the internship, she was offered a full-time position that begins in July 2017, after she completes work on her Master of Public Health degree.

“As I focus on graduating in December,” McGirt said, “I hope that I can continue using my life to serve communities and to help raise awareness on issues surrounding health equity and health disparities. I look forward to supporting HealthCorps as I continue to rise professionally, and I will work to ensure long-term sustainability of the nonprofit that I established in 2011, Healthy Girls Save the World. Both nonprofits are having a positive impact on youth and helping them to change their health behaviors, and it feels great to be a part of infrastructures that are prioritizing prevention for our next generation!”

Watch video of the television program here.


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Gillings School of Global Public Health contact: David Pesci, director of communications, (919) 962-2600 or dpesci@unc.edu

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