Faculty Say: Donn Gaede
DESCRIBE THE NATURE OF YOUR WORK AT LLU SPH
My name is Donn Gaede, and I am an Assistant Professor here at Loma Linda University School of Public Health. I teach in the area of health administration, and also in the area of global health. Both departments.
Another activity I'm involved with is that I am also secretary for Adventist Health International, which is a not for profit corporation that some of us here at the university are involved with. That corporation is working with a number of different countries with the Adventist Health facilities in those countries. Most of my work is in Africa, and so I have a real privilege of being able to go out and work with the health facilities in those countries as well.
WHAT DO YOU LOVE MOST OF ABOUT TEACHING/RESEARCH?
I really enjoy working here at the School of Public Health because this job and this place allow me to incorporate some of the key parts of my life, my interest in working with community. I get to work both in local communities and international communities--very rewarding work. The other thing is--I love working with students, I enjoy the teaching aspect, I enjoy working with graduate students who are eager to develop as professionals, and being able to help guide them as they prepare and grow. I mean I think it is just a rare privilege that I really really enjoy. And when I can have a job in a place where I get to combine these, that makes it even better.
I particularly love teaching and research combination. Again I love working with the students. They are fantastic--they always come up new ideas. I guess they keep my life fresh, that's really good. But it also means they are constantly challenging as we interface with the community. We're always having to look at new perspectives, not only the perspectives that they have but what the community has. That interaction that we have is really great.
I love working with new grants and research because we're expected, they pay us to go out and try to find new and better ways of doing things. And why wouldn't you love that? This is a fantastic opportunity to always be looking into new and better ideas and being creative and find new ways to respond to the needs of the world. I think with this combination of work, it also provides me a rare opportunity to at least in small ways make a difference out there in the world. One of the big areas that we are working in right now, internationally, is working with the HIV Aids Pandemic. To be able to go out and work with institutions who are trying to make a small difference, not only in treating people, and we are very much working with institutions who are expanding their treatment capabilities. We are training health professionals out there in new methods of treatment and care. But also they're working with prevention in trying to change people's attitudes in ways that will help them lower their risk of disease. And to be able to see how people catch these new ideas and are able to receive these new treatments, and one day they are really sick and having trouble. But within a few months, all of sudden they are back vibrant part of the family and part of their communities again. Man that is exciting stuff. You do get to see the results of your work, you do get to see how those people in those communities are improved. It is a rare opportunity, and I would hate to miss out on this. I feel like I have the best job in the world right now.
How do you see yourself changing/impacting the world through your work? What would you like to share about who you are and what you do that might encourage a student to come to LLU SPH?
I think one of the uniquenesses of our University and our school is that not only are we interested and involved in public health and health sciences, but in a very practical real way, the spirituality of who we are, our whole spiritual relationship with God and with community is part of what we are. It affects the way we do our work, it effects the passion that we have for the community and the people we serve. I think it also makes a difference in the way we feel about our students. The passion that we have for our community spills over in that we are passionate that our students get excited about this work. We believe in what we do. If students want to go to someplace where the faculty are really excited and want to share that excitement with them, I think this is the place that allows that dynamic to take place.
As I talk with other students and faculty here, it is a topic that comes up frequently, and I know the faculty as they talk about the students here, they often talk about it in that context. "Oh this student has great potential here, how can we help them catch a vision of what they are capable of, how we can we help students find ways to truly use their blessings and their capabilities to the greatest extent?"
We love connecting with students who are already passionate about their work and about service. We all kind of get very excited about interacting. And it's challenging, we challenge each other's ideas. There is a real depth beyond just the academic, but it goes into who we are, and what we are really care about in this world.
