With the struggles of the pandemic, trust in public health has decreased among many people. Myranda Baumgartner hopes to change that.

“Ultimately, I want a seat at the decision-making table,” Myranda shared. “I want to make sure we are using the data and work that we are having to do by law and see if that data can help us improve and prevent some of the outcomes that we currently see.”

Myranda, who practically grew up at Trinity Valley Community College, spent her younger days visiting her dad, TVCC Biology Professor Brian Baumgartner and watching TV or playing games in the break rooms of the Gibbs Academic Building on the Athens Campus.

“My earliest memory of TVCC is sitting in the break room of the science building,” Myranda shared. “All the professors knew my name. There are newspaper clippings of me tumbling with the TVCC cheerleaders. It was a part of my life long before I attended TVCC as a dual credit student.”

Myranda explained that she visits her family and Athens often and has noticed a huge growth and impact at TVCC.

“The school is growing like crazy,” Myranda shared. “Plus, there’s more community development in the area. It now feels like a college community vibe. Before, it kind of felt like people would attend here then leave. Now people come [to TVCC], make great memories and stay. It’s cool to see [TVCC] grow and expand.”

Though Myranda is excited for the growth at TVCC, she is especially proud and excited to see the successes her father continues to have at TVCC.

“My dad is my hero!” Myranda exclaimed with a beaming smile. “I remember sitting in his classes and listening in. He has a passion for the sciences that have been instilled in me. He doesn’t get to interact with his students like he interacts with me, but if they get even an ounce of what he has instilled in me they are going to do great in life.”

Myranda shared that though she never attended her father’s classes as a student at TVCC, he was always assisting her with classes.

“Shout-out to my dad,” Myranda said. “He is the reason I passed general chemistry in my first year as an undergraduate student. He’s a biology teacher, yet he taught himself everything to know about chemistry just to help me. Plus, to this day I still send him my papers to read over.”

During 2011 to 2013, Myranda attended TVCC as a dual credit student to complete her core classes such as math, science, and history.

Myranda explained that attending TVCC as a dual credit student was exciting, but she quickly noticed how different it was from being a high school student.

“It was super fun!” Myranda shared. “I mean we were high schoolers, and we had this freedom where we didn’t have to be at school right at 8 a.m. It was awesome to get a taste of what it’s like to be an undergrad college student. I didn’t struggle with any of the materials as a dual-credit student and it was awesome to get that freedom.”

Upon graduating from Athens High School in 2013, Myranda attended Austin College for her bachelor’s in biology and political science. With the help of her dual credit classes, she was able to be considered core complete in her undergraduate studies.

“Dual credit definitely sets me up for success,” Myranda shared. “Usually at Austin College, we had a full load of core classes, but I was able to immediately start on my major.”

While at Austin College, Myranda was able to discover the career she was meant to be in: public health.

“I had people in my life telling me that public health might be something that interests me, but I had to take some time to realize that’s what I truly wanted to do,” Myranda explained.

Myranda currently holds a Bachelor of Arts with an emphasis in biology and political science and a Master of Public Health in Infectious Diseases from Cornell University. She is currently working on her Doctor of Public Health at the Medical College of Wisconsin. Myranda previously served as Epidemiologist II in the Dallas County Health and Human Services Communicable Disease Division. Since November of 2023, Myranda has served as the Community Health Planner for Dallas County Health and Human Services where she primarily oversees strategic planning efforts and works to collect community-driven evidence-based data that helps to inform future public health decisions in Dallas County.

Prior to her role at Dallas County, she worked as a Disaster Epidemiologist with the Texas Department of State Health Services as the Mortality Surveillance Team Lead and responded to the February 2021 winter storms in Texas, and the record breaking 2020 hurricane season. Myranda believes in establishing a strong, open line of communication between public health, policy makers, and the communities we serve.

“It takes a united approach to change policy or programs,” Myranda explained.

As part of her dissertation at the Medical College of Wisconsin, Myranda is partnering with Northeast Texas Public Health District (NET Health) to get a better understanding in concepts of trust, attitudes, and experiences with natural disasters in Henderson County residents. Myranda is asking citizens of Henderson County to complete a quick, anonymous survey to share their feelings on public health in the area.

Individuals interested in in completing the survey can go here https://forms.gle/jX9gKooojzBvM83q7. Any questions concerning the survey can be directed to Myranda at mbaumgartner@mcw.edu