After a long and varied career in the public health field, Eric Aakko is ready to give back. “I’m excited about teaching students how living Jesus’ model of ‘love your neighbor’ can be applied to public health.”
Aakko is coming to Union College as director for the masters of public health program, which accepted its first students last fall. Originally from Canada, Aakko has been practicing public health across the United States for the last 30 years. After graduating from Southern Adventist University, he spent a year volunteering at Bandung Adventist Hospital in Indonesia. When he returned to North America, he got his first public health job at the Lincoln Lancaster County Health Department. “I haven’t looked back,” Aakko said. “30 years went fast.”
Since then, Aakko has worked as a public health policy analyst, an environmental risk communication specialist, and in emergency preparedness. “In public health, every day is different,” he said. “You don’t really know what could happen next.” For the last 17 years he’s been working in Colorado, promoting healthy living at both the state and local level.
Not only is Aakko experienced in public health, but he is also a certified health education specialist and a diplomate for the American College of Lifestyle Medicine. “I’m excited to apply all my various experiences to being the director of the public health program here at Union,” said Aakko. “I’m looking forward to getting students a variety of exciting public health practicums that match their career aspirations.”
In his free time, Eric Aakko keeps things interesting with all sorts of outdoor activities: camping, canoeing, backcountry skiing, bikepacking. Aakko is excited to explore more of the Midwest on his bike. He said, “One criticism of the Lincoln area is that there are a lot of gravel roads, but to me that’s the cat’s meow because I love cycling on gravel. I look forward to getting dusted.” Eric’s family is also excited for the move to Lincoln, including his two kids, two dogs, and his spouse, Jodie, who will be looking to do some substitute teaching at CVA.
The longest bikepacking trip Aakko has ever completed was 825 miles long, from Banff National Park to Yellowstone National Park. “I did that solo self-supported,” he said. “It wasn’t unusual to come across bears, coyotes, moose, or elk. I saw the occasional rattlesnake. Sometimes you’re getting snowed on, rained on, hailed on, or trying to outrun a severe thunderstorm, but then there’s those days where you just have a glorious sunrise and you know that there’s all this good in the world.”
by Annika Cambigue, senior English and communication major