While decades of public health education and practice have improved health outcomes at an aggregate level, India still faces complex health disparities caused by systemic inequities.  The journey from aggregate improvement to distributive fairness requires future public health professionals to blend technical expertise with a commitment to social justice, emphasizing the social aspects of health and focusing on marginalized communities. 

Originally delivered as a speech to young public health enthusiasts in Bhopal in August 2025, this essay highlights how mentorship nurtures aspiration, inspiration, and motivation to tackle the field’s complexities while connecting personal goals with collective wellbeing. 

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Good morning everyone,

It is heartening to see so many young faces here today, filled with questions, curiosity, and a desire to contribute to public health in India. Some of you are already contributing as young professionals, while others are students aspiring to make a change. In you, I see future public health storytellers, each with a journey to tell.  As the ​‘transition generation’ of public health, we are at a crossroads.  My 80-year-old mother struggles to explain what her 50-year-old son does, but my 18-year-old daughter understands this emerging field that attracts diverse aspirants.

Today I am reminded of my twenty-year-younger self, whose story mirrors that of many students I have taught. Most of us lacked a family history of higher education, a roadmap, and influential contacts. All we had was an urge to make sense of the problems we saw around us – poverty, scarcity, untreated illnesses, and debt from treatments. Like me, many were unsure at the start — curious and overwhelmed, quiet and hesitant, wondering if we belonged or could ever make a difference. But over time, we blossomed.  Conversations outside class – small nudges, reminders that lived experiences matter, and encouragement that our field is shaped by connecting personal journeys with collective wellbeing – helped us grow. Today, as we excel in our roles, I reflect on how we are not merely ​“taught,” but are mentored, where aspiration, inspiration, and motivation (AIM) come together.

Aspiration is that spark, the desire to study, serve, contribute – to make a difference.  It is about what we want to achieve for ourselves and others, not just at the start of our careers but at the end. This is not about first jobs or prestigious positions. This is about answering the question of why we pursue this career.  Yet aspiration is fragile and needs nurturing; otherwise, it can fade when faced with challenges.  This is where inspiration comes in. Inspiration comes from the stories of teachers, peers, and communities who walked the path before us, helping us convert private aspiration into a collective possibility. And finally, Motivation, the energy to keep going when the going gets tough, is what sustains us. A marathon, unlike a sprint, is a commitment to the self, focuses on finishing, and requires preparation and time. A public health career is a marathon — a long, challenging journey marked by rejection, limited resources, and barriers.  Motivation built on discipline, purpose, and stubbornness helps us persevere.

Without aspiration, we don’t begin.  Without inspiration, we don’t continue.  Without motivation, we don’t sustain. Mentoring supports students and young professionals in beginning, continuing, and sustaining their journey by creating a space to voice aspirations, nourish inspiration, and renew motivation. It fosters confidence in navigating the complex, layered, and less visible journey of public health.

While I cherish creating spaces for students to think critically and bring authenticity into the profession, I value having good mentors who recognised my potential before I did.  A retired colonel in his 80s, my first mentor, encouraged me to explore unconventional careers beyond a small-town teaching job after correcting my broken English in a letter. My university professor’s praise and feedback on grammatical mistakes taught me the importance of validation and humility. My first boss, an ex-bureaucrat turned scholar-entrepreneur, treated my naïve questions with respect, boosting my confidence to explore diverse research methods to understand the lived realities of marginalized communities. My sage-like environmentalist mentor, who inspires children toward sustainability, reassured me that both anxiety and excitement signal a true seeker.  They guided me in finding the right intersection of my values, skills, and societal needs.

Public health is as much about perspective as it is about knowledge. I can learn epidemiology, health policy, and demography – but without the ability to see through the lens of equity, justice, and inclusion, my practice will remain incomplete. Mentorship is about cultivating these perspectives.  While mentoring often involves helping mentees feel safe to articulate their doubts and disagreements, it sometimes requires asking difficult questions: Who are we, and who are they? Who is heard, and whose voices are missing? Who benefits and who is left behind?

Mentoring involves encouragement and critique, as growth requires both. Twenty years ago, during fieldwork, I asked my mentor, ​“Ma’am, how do we know if we are really helping these people?” Her response, which still echoes, was: ​“If you leave this place with more humility than you came with, you are already on the right path.”  While perspectives give us vision, humility keeps us grounded.  Humility and perspective shape our personality, making us more content, kinder, and wiser. Together, they help us check our arrogance while ​‘generating awareness’, ​‘providing services’, and ​‘reaching the unreached’. 

Keeping us grounded, mentoring also reminds us that our work is greater than our individual accomplishments. It helps us transcend careers to foster a culture of trust, growth, and shared purpose. To all the young professionals here, I want to say this: Seek mentors but also aim to become one. Beyond references and recommendations, our field depends on chains of mentorship across generations.

So, as you step forward, find mentors. Become mentors. And above all, keep striving to discover your own AIM for PH – your aspiration, your inspiration, your motivation. Develop diverse perspectives and proactively explore reasons to stay humble. That way, our PH will not just be Public Health but can become our Passion for Humanity.

Thank you.

About the author

Mayur Trivedi has two decades of research experience in exploring self, science, system, and society across thematic areas of health financing and insurance, health economics, health and development, assessment of health interventions of government and non-government organisations, and exploration of the health of marginalised communities.