Veteran journalist emphasizes taking charge of opportunities during WSU commencement

Lisa Cohen warned several hundred soon-to-be Washington State University graduates Saturday that unlike many of their parents, today's degree holders likely will have many careers in their lifetimes. But that doesn't mean the destination won't be worth the trip to get there.

"I've had a severe case of professional ADD, but every one of those stops felt like the best in the world at the time," she said. Cohen, executive director of the Washington Global Health Alliance and a 25-year journalist, was the commencement speaker for WSU's liberal arts and communications colleges, which celebrated the accomplishments of their outgoing students Saturday afternoon in Pullman.

While Cohen said one of the high points of her news career was chasing rattlesnakes with an Okanogan, Wash., rancher, it was her coverage of the more serious and world-changing issues that shaped her attitude about what to do with her career. She recalled time spent in Africa - when she first arrived, the town elder asked for a light bulb because the only one in the village had burned out. The trip exposed her to even more signs she was far away from home. She said she saw hairdressers receiving training to be able to speak to their clients about HIV, a sensitive subject in an area where entrepreneurs sold homemade caskets on street corners.

"Once you've seen that kind of disparity, you can't turn away," Cohen said.

But she said even the United States has its health demons that need fighting. "We may not get malaria any longer, but parts of Washington state have the highest levels of tuberculosis in the country," she said.
Cohen refreshed students' memories about the H1N1 flu outbreak that hit WSU hard last fall. Headlines proclaiming thousands of infected students and employees graced the front pages of newspapers across
the region. Some health officials feared the virus would remain a widespread threat this spring, but so far that nightmare has not come to fruition.

"It may not seem like a big deal now, but think back to the beginning," Cohen said. "You now have a sense of how fast these things could spread."

She said the increasing ease of international travel has aggravated the spread of disease across the globe, making prevention and treatment everyone's responsibility. Cohen encouraged the degree candidates to travel, volunteer, teach and seek out opportunities that will provide personal enrichment while making the world a better place. She said the world needs anthropology majors to track the spread of disease, sociology majors to work with communities dealing with sensitive issues, communications and English majors to educate, journalism majors to report and political science majors to help form and maintain new alliances.

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