GSI Feature: Caroline Gezon
Guiding projects, supporting instruction, and mentoring students alongside the rest of the staff and faculty, Graduate Student Instructors (GSI) are key supporting players in shaping the student experience. This article is part of a series featuring the GSIs of the Fung Fellowship for Wellness & Technology.
Caroline Gezon joined the Fung Fellowship faculty as a GSI while pursuing a dual MBA/MPH with the Haas School of Business. She graduated from Wake Forest University with a major in International Finance and two minors in Political Science and Art History. Caroline has worked with design and innovation organizations such as Gobee Group, IDEO and Deloitte previously, and hopes to incorporate her experience and expertise in guiding her students. Her passions in global health and design motivate her to encourage students to develop a global perspective. She’s excited to see her students grow over the course of the entire year and in turn, is inspired to learn from her students.
How did you first hear about the Fung Fellowship? What attracted you to apply for the GSI position?
“I first heard about the Fung Fellowship from a School of Public Health newsletter. I applied for the GSI role because it combined my interests in healthcare and design. Additionally, many of the Fung Fellowship projects last year focused on designing for the aging population, a passion of mine. Plus, I knew and had a lot of respect for Faculty Lead Jaspal Sandhu and was excited about the opportunity to work with him and his team.
What are you responsible for accomplishing within your GSI role, and what do you hope to gain?
I am the GSI for the Honors Program of returning Fellows, which means that I coach for the Honors student projects and work closely with each of the students to support their goals. I’m looking forward to building relationships with my students and gaining more experience in teaching, coaching and mentorship.
Can you tell us more about your dual MBA/MPH at UC Berkeley? What are you hoping to achieve with this new degree?
I’m passionate about improving health delivery by scaling the use of behavioral design and innovation. I think the private sector is the key to scaling change and accelerating global health outcomes. So, I’m pursuing a dual Master’s in business and public health to learn both about epidemiological challenges that users face, and about new business and funding models that could scale change in low-resource settings.
“I’m passionate about improving health delivery by scaling the use of behavioral design and innovation.”
What do you hope to bring from your own background to help the Fellows in their projects and development?
My background is in strategy consulting and design thinking. I’m excited to bring both my expertise from working in professional consulting settings and my experience from working in design firms to the student experience. My goals to support students include leading facilitation exercises, promoting team building and encouraging a global perspective.
What have you learned from those organizations that you wish to impart or implement at the Fung Fellowship?
I’ve been very lucky to have worked across some fantastic organizations, such as Gobee Group, IDEO and Deloitte, over the course of my career. One of the biggest takeaways I’ve learned from working in organizations of all different shapes and sizes is that the approach to systems thinking is relatively similar across organizations and that what matters more is team culture and leadership that motivates teams and creates excellent work. I’m hoping that in my leadership role with the Fung Fellowship I can help to build a culture of collaboration, drive and fun!”
Learn more about the Fung Fellowship at fungfellows.berkeley.edu.
