USD School of Health Sciences Success Spotlight: Eva Kluender, MPH

Eva Kluender, MPH

Degree: Master of Public Health

Current Position: Director of Family and Community Health, Siouxland District Health Department

Eva Kluender, MPH, was working as a dental assistant when she took her first public health course as part of her undergraduate degree program in Health Sciences at USD. 

"My original plan was to become a dental hygienist," she says. She reasoned that a Health Sciences degree would support her work in dental healthcare, where she especially enjoyed helping underserved populations and providing health education.

But that first public health course caused her to reevaluate and, ultimately, changed the direction of her life. After earning her BS in 2019, Kluender enrolled in the Master of Public Health degree program. 

"My professors had the most influence on me about the public health field and its impacts," says Kluender, who was further influenced by her graduate courses in Native Peoples Health Care, Epidemiology, and Health Promotion. "I found the profession to be very meaningful and fulfilling which fueled my desire to provide impactful change in communities." 

Even though she was working full time while taking graduate classes, Kluender says she appreciated the opportunity to meet and collaborate with other students who shared her passion for creating healthier communities. She graduated with her MPH in 2019. 

Today, she's applying the knowledge and skill she gained at USD to real-world community health challenges as the Director of Family and Community Health at the Siouxland District Health Department in Sioux City.

"I think the most unique quality of getting a public health degree at USD is the cultural competence it gave me," she says. "Leading these diverse initiatives has deepened my understanding of how social determinants of health shape outcomes for individuals and families."