By: Hallie Luther
When Emily (Berzonsky) Scarcello chose to pursue her Master of Public Health with a Health Promotion concentration at UNMC, her younger sister, Kate (Berzonsky) Brodersen, was still in high school. A few years later, Kate enrolled in the same program at the same school, with a concentration in Epidemiology. Neither sister set out to mirror the other; they just kept following the same quiet pull toward the same field, independently, and ended up in the same place.
Both sisters arrived at public health through different doors. Emily’s turning point was a Social Determinants of Health course at South Dakota State University that redirected her away from her original path, physical therapy, entirely.
“Somewhere within taking this course, I decided that my passion was to tackle health at the population level rather than via direct patient care,” Emily revealed. She had never encountered the term ‘social determinants of health’ before, but she was “inspired by the idea that population-level programming and changes could improve the health of entire communities.”
Kate, on the other hand, started her public health journey in high school, where she participated in Science Olympiad, a team STEM competition.
“I knew pretty early on that it was something I wanted to pursue academically,” she mused, “My sister was always very supportive and encouraged me to pursue experiences I otherwise might not have.” Kate went on to clarify that although her sister was an inspiration, she believes that they both would have found their calling in public health no matter what.
UNMC offered two unique experiences for these women.
Emily’s time was defined by COVID-19. She described being in the lecture hall when Dean Ali Khan, MD, first briefed students on the emerging virus, and she was ready and willing to help in any way she could. She directed people at vaccine clinics and worked for a nonprofit organization that began offering a drive-through food pantry.
“COVID was an all-hands-on-deck public health experience that created student opportunities that I think in ‘normal times’ would not have existed for myself and other students,” she reflected.
Kate’s experience was shaped by Dr. Joseph Fauver’s infectious enthusiasm in the classroom and hands-on cancer research. She described his class as “a safe space to nerd-out about public health” that made her excited to apply the skills she was learning. She also was shaped significantly by her experience as a research assistant on a few cancer studies.
“Being part of active research allowed me to see firsthand how our findings can inform disease understanding and treatment,” she recalled. Knowing that her contributions would make a difference affirmed her choice to pursue public health.
After graduation, in 2021 for Emily and 2025 for Kate, the sisters pursued different corners of public health. Kate is enamored with the research side and currently works as a Monoclonal Antibody Manufacturing Technician for Zoetis in Lincoln. Emily supports hospitals in assessing and addressing community health needs as a Healthy Communities Manager for CHI Health in Omaha.
Even though they work in the same field, they try to keep shoptalk out of their personal conversations.
“We talk about work and how it is going for each of us, but we actually don’t typically compare and/or talk about general public health ideas; maybe someday, if our jobs are more similar,” Emily said.
Despite representing different corners of public health, they both agree that impact starts with individuals. When talking about the breadth of the field, Kate determined that “It’s so important to combine our efforts, because everyone brings something different to the table that could broaden outreach and lead to healthier communities.”
Emily had similar sentiments, stating that she believes that “humility, friendliness, and empathy will leave a lasting impact with friends and family, coworkers, and community partners, and that this will then translate to impactful community change.”
Together, they illustrate that public health isn’t one thing; it’s a big tent, and there’s room for everyone who cares.
