October 8, 2024 | Erin Bluvas, bluvase@sc.edu

“Every part of my education, training, and work experience led me to this role whether it be my master’s program at USC or my passion for women’s health,” says Peyton Mosher, program coordinator for the Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Catalyst and Leadership, Education, and Advancement in Undergraduate Pathways (LEAP) programs at USC. “I use different skills or things I have learned from all of my past experiences.”

Launched by epidemiology professor Jihong Liu in 2020, the Arnold School’s MCH training efforts have grown to include undergraduate and graduate scholar training, student organizations, a graduate certificate program and more. Mosher joined the team in 2023 and has quickly become a key player in making sure the programs run smoothly.

"I feel incredibly fortunate to work with Peyton, who has successfully coordinated student programs with her exceptional multitasking abilities," Liu says. "She is very organized, quick to learn new things, and demonstrates strong work ethics. Her dedication to the success of our programs is truly admirable."

As the program coordinator, Mosher helps implement the two major workforce development grants that the Health Resources and Services Administration awarded Liu to bolster MCH training and curriculum opportunities at USC. The underlying theme of her work – and her favorite part – is to engage students.

Mosher plans and coordinates events like monthly dinner seminars, guest speakers, professional development opportunities and connecting with community partners for experiential learning. She also recruits students to apply to the MCH programs and facilitates onboarding.

“I help students find our programs and then help them make the most of what we have to offer them to grow their passion for MCH and experience in the field to be successful when they graduate,” Mosher says. “They are so passionate about MCH and making a difference, and it is my honor to help them achieve their goals. They consistently surprise me in such amazing ways, and I love getting to watch them make the most of the programs and opportunities.”

Mosher’s current role is one she couldn’t have foreseen when she began her academic career at the University of Alabama. After graduating with a bachelor’s in biological sciences and a minor in public policy studies, she enrolled in the M.S. in Epidemiology program at the Arnold School.

Mosher gained coordinating experience with Healthy Campus Initiatives as a Policy, System, and Environment Graduate Assistant – organizing the Healthy Carolina Farmers Market and working on the Parent and Kinship Care Network. The latter sparked Mosher’s interest in MCH and gave her the opportunity share information on USC’s lactation support at the South Carolina Breastfeeding Coalition Biennial Conference.

She gained additional MCH experience as a research assistant for exercise science assistant professor Elizabeth Adams as part of the Arnold Healthy Kids Initiative and by finding a mentor in Liu, who served as Mosher’s thesis chair. Mosher’s thesis focused on the effects of prenatal depression on the breastfeeding practices of women in the Midlands Healthy Start program.

“Dr. Liu knew I had an interest in MCH and that I was becoming more interested in the programming side of the field than research,” she says. “So, she shared this program coordinator opportunity with me to gain more experience in MCH and work on the programming side to balance the research training that my master’s program had given me.”

Mosher loves the ideal geographical placement of living in Columbia. After growing up in a land-locked state, she appreciates the fact that it’s easy to drive to the beach, mountains, a large city, out to the country, and more in just a few hours.

The Staff Spotlight Series is sponsored by the Arnold School's Office of Access and Collective Engagement.