Jennifer Seo, AB 2000

I’ve been in public health for about a year and a half…

Jennifer and Colleagues

Not even one year into the job, the pandemic hit. I was living, breathing, dreaming about COVID for several months, and I got to learn a lot about government and politics - things I had an interest in, but didn’t realize I’d be thrown into so quickly. My science background has been incredibly important in making sure everything is data-driven and evidence-based. I’m so proud of my Public Health Department colleagues, and especially my medical director colleagues, because we have had to dive back into the hustle we learned from med school and residency, meaning lots of sleepless nights. But we’re doing it for a purpose, so there are no regrets or complaints about feeling tired.

In August, I was missing one-on-one real patient interaction, so I went back to the clinic then. I had been living with and hearing about the anxiety of COVID every single day, so I expected to hear a lot about the suffering from patients as well. I would ask my patients how everything was, and they replied it was challenging. But what made me so happy was that they had moved on with their lives. That was one of the happiest moments in this pandemic for me. The resiliency of our human race shines through in our city’s residents - my clinic serves a largely Latinx population, and, here in Chicago, the Latinx community has been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic, but they’re still living their life. The other thing that made me really happy was to see that, while I’m not using my clinical skills directly to treat patients most of the time, I can still have an impact. It was just so heartening to be in the clinic and see that people were thriving because, yes, my public health colleagues and I have made a difference. This is when public health is working the best - when you don’t even realize the direct impact.

Personally, one of the most wonderful things coming out of this pandemic has been staying home and watching my 17-month-old develop. Lots of times I would turn around and see his mouth blue because he was sucking on a non-toxic marker, and I got to hear and witness verbal developments as he picked up new words. He actually learned “Uh oh” from when I would say “Uh oh” as I stopped him from sucking on another marker.

It’s during little things like that when we realize how lucky we are to be alive and share these moments with others. I’m trying to stay positive that way. We are going to get through this. Just give it a little bit more time. Hunker down, stay strong. When we see each other again more regularly in person, it’s going to be even better.

Jennifer Seo MD, JD

AB 2003 | Literature

Medical Director at Chicago Department of Public Health

Compiled and interviewed by Felicia Ho