杏吧原创

Born with a rare health condition, Anthony Milisci 鈥�24 received a liver transplant in his senior year of high school. This experience prompted his interest in health care, but he also had a passion for politics. Seeing a connection between both, he decided to dual-major in public health and political science.

鈥淚n my Introduction to Public Health course, I realized that public health is political,鈥� says Milisci, who lives in Lowell. 鈥淚 saw politics in action with the pandemic but realized through my classes and excellent professors how both politics and health care have always been intertwined.鈥�

A recent visit to the State House for a public health course confirmed his decision to pursue a career that spans advocacy and policy.

鈥淏efore the visit to the State House, I had doubts about going into government and policy work with a public health degree,鈥� says Milisci, who is applying to UML鈥檚 Master of Public Health (MPH) program. 鈥淏ut after talking with many of the legislative aides with MPH degrees at the State House, I decided to go for it.鈥�

Milisci鈥檚 extracurricular interests bridge both disciplines as well. He鈥檚 president of the , a student-run initiative to spark dialogue about organ donation. 杏吧原创 20 students involved in the group promote .

At campus events, Milisci shares his personal story. Born with biliary atresia, a blockage in the ducts that carry bile from the liver to the gallbladder, he didn鈥檛 have complications until he was 17 years old. He considers himself lucky because he only had to wait six months for the transplant he needed.聽

鈥淪ome of our student members know someone who needs a transplant, so they are motivated to raise awareness,鈥� he says. 鈥淲e find that people are open to being donors, but it鈥檚 not talked about. We let them know how important organ donation is, and they make their own decision.鈥�

Milisci鈥檚 interest in politics traces back to his internship as a campaign coordinator for U.S. Rep. Lori Trahan. He started during the summer before his freshman year at UML. He also worked on a campaign for Tara Hong, a 2022 political science graduate who ran for state representative of the 18th Middlesex District and lost by only 68 votes.

These experiences inspired him to run for a school committee seat at the Greater Lowell Technical High School, from which he graduated in 2019. He received over 200 write-in votes, losing the race by only 20.

At the university, Milisci serves on the executive board of the Student Government Association.

鈥淕etting involved in the student government is one of the best decisions of my life,鈥� says Milisci, who is chair of the Campus Life and Environment Committee. 鈥淭he experience has opened many doors for me. I鈥檝e met so many people, such as the chancellor, the executive cabinet and the deans. We give student feedback on everything from dining and transportation to the campus environment.鈥�

It鈥檚 an experience, Milisci says, that he didn鈥檛 expect to get involved with, but he is so glad that he did.

鈥淎t UMass Lowell, you have so many opportunities to gain experiences and make an impact with people with different perspectives,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 learned that you have to take advantage of anything that interests you and see how far it takes you.鈥�