The Daily Gamecock

USC public health professer Horner touts power of persistence

	<p>Ronnie Horner</p>
Ronnie Horner

Horner: ‘I want to help others be the best they can be’

According to Ronnie Horner, students at the University of South Carolina can learn a lot from the act of being persistent.

“It is the persistent person who eventually succeeds in whatever field of study they find themselves,” Horner said. “Nothing inspires others quite like success.”

For Horner, a new professor in the Arnold School of Public Health, coming to USC from the University of Cincinnati was an opportunity for him to expand his research and to pursue those topics that would have a direct and immediate impact on his ultimate passion: health care.

The goal of his research is to re–establish the way that universities partner with real–world health care systems. This year, he is doing research with the Greenville Health Center.

Horner said his goals have remained the sole focus of his career.
He reflected on his previous works and how they prepared him for his current work:

“I had the opportunity to work at one of the top academic health centers in the nation, Duke University Medical Center, where I was able to interact with some really innovative thinkers,” Horner said. “I learned to work hard and to take chances, to pursue new ideas that not everyone might agree are worth pursuing and to be willing to fail. One can learn a lot from failure.”

With failure always comes a learning experience, Horner said, and he stresses the importance of individuals learning and growing from those moments.

In an effort to help contribute to change in the health care system, Horner also wants to inspire others with his work.

“I want to help others to be the best they can be,” Horner said. “Why? I don’t really know. I just do. Maybe it’s because life is a gift and I believe that we should not squander that gift, but do all we can to maximize what we have been given.”


Comments