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The HyperCast - The Decisions You Choose and the Ones That Choose You (Jump Anyway) - Dana Surwill, MPH
Episode Description
One decision can reroute your entire life, especially when it feels like you did everything “right” and still got told no. I sit down with Dana Sirwill, a 23-year-old EMT in Las Vegas with a master’s in public health, to unpack how she kept moving after a late-stage Air Force ROTC medical disqualification and seven or eight rounds of rejection that would have made most people quit for good.
We go back to the beginning: Dana starting high school and college at 12, walking into a UNLV Spanish class full of adults, and learning to treat fear as “good scared” instead of a stop sign. From there, we get honest about identity and loss when a long-built plan collapses, and why she chose to stay and lead her people even after she was told her ROTC path was over. The throughline is community, mentorship, and the practical kind of resilience you can actually copy: ask for context, get support, and keep your purpose even if the original route closes.
Then we zoom out into public health, where Dana explains why prevention can protect entire communities, not just one patient at a time. She shares what she sees on 9-1-1 calls, why education and resources matter, and what her “mosquito project” is really about: Aedes aegypti in Las Vegas, outbreak risk from travel, and pesticide susceptibility testing to help reduce future disease threats like dengue, Zika, and yellow fever.
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Disclaimer
The views, opinions, and statements expressed on The HyperCast are those of the individual hosts and guests, and do not reflect the official policy or position of the U.S. Government, the Department of War (DoW), the United States Air Force (USAF), the Air National Guard, or any other government agency, department, or organization. Guest appearances and statements do not constitute an endorsement by any of the aforementioned entities. Content is provided for informational and entertainment purposes only.