For #FlashbackFriday , the year was 2001, and my editor at NPR asked me to apply for a new journalism program at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in #Atlanta . The Knight Foundation Journalism Fellowships would include training with #epidemiologists , study of #biostatistics and a chance to focus on the #publichealth topic of our choice. I was one of the first Knight #CDC fellows, and gained an extraordinary insider's view of public health practice. But the real gift came this morning, during an interview Dr. William Callaghan, Chief of the Maternal and Infant Health Branch in the Division of Reproductive Health at the CDC. While wrapping up, Dr. Callaghan asked if I'd ever visited the CDC. He said my name sounded so familiar. Soon, he remembered: it was during the Knight Journalism fellowship. "I remember hearing you speak during one of the sessions," he said. 17 years ago. He asked how things have been going in my career. I told him my CDC training helped take me halfway round the world to support health reporting in East #Africa . It fuels my passion for #globalhealth and #development issues to this day. The moral to this story? Always put your best foot forward. You never know who'll remember the impression you've made. …see more