A Decade of Dedication: Celebrating Josh Hodsden

Today, we celebrate Josh Hodsden, the Recruitment and Admissions Manager, whose enthusiasm and dedication have made him the friendly face of the SPH graduate program. Josh joined the School in February 2017, just as the joint institution was taking its first steps, and immediately became integral to building the essential student pipeline. His journey is a story of creating streamline systems out of complexity and believing deeply in the mission of public health.

When Josh first joined the SPH in 2017, he was hired as the Program Coordinator for the Online MPH/certificate and the MPH ESHH. He describes the institutional landscape at the time as having “no roadmap.” The environment lacked policies, a system to track prospective students, and standard operating procedures.

At the time, there was an obvious separation between the two university campuses. Without a centralized structure, prospective students had no single point of contact for program-specific questions. Josh quickly realized his initial strength—working closely with all programs—was the key to bridging these gaps.

In the face of this complexity, Josh became a champion for consistency and centralization. His administrative journey reflects the growth of the SPH’s recruitment and admissions from Program Coordinator (2017-2018), to Graduate Admissions Specialist (2018-2021), to Recruitment and Admissions Manager (2021-Present). Throughout his tenure, Josh has been the primary expert on all programs, overseeing all SOPHAS applications and ensuring a consistent, high-quality experience for every applicant.

Josh is the friendly face of admissions and recruitment—a reputation earned because he cares deeply about the incoming students. His dedication goes beyond just administrative tasks; it is rooted in his personal belief in the school’s mission. Josh’s commitment to the School is so deep that he reached a personal milestone by completing an MPH program recently, driven by a desire to become a true expert in the mission he recruits for every day.

For Josh, the most rewarding aspect of his years of service is the full-circle journey he shares with students. “I support them at the very beginning and I get very emotional when I learn how much their degree has helped them move forward,” he shares. Seeing the impact alumni make in the community is the ultimate validation of the infrastructure he helped build.

Josh Hodsden’s tireless work provided the crucial structure that allows the SPH to recruit, successfully admit, and then graduate students to become the public health leaders of tomorrow.