Originally from a small town south of Atlanta, second-year USF College of Public Health (COPH) doctoral student Alyssa Hughes Durfey has traveled the US in pursuit of her education and career for the last 11 years.
“I earned my BS in biology in Tennessee at Maryville College, then earned my MPH from Liberty University in Virgina and my MBA from Louisiana State University,” she said. “I worked in North Carolina for four years and then bounced around consulting between Florida, North Carolina, Minnesota, California, Alaska and Utah.
Fast forward to 2020 and her career path took an unexpected turn. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Hughes Durfey wrote her first children’s book, “Millie the Masked Musk Ox”.
“It all started as a fun mid-pandemic venture and grew from there,” she said. “It was a way to keep myself engaged in a project, but unexpectedly the story came out really cute, so I decided to publish it and donate a portion of all sales to the nonprofit that inspired the story.”
“Millie the Masked Musk Ox” was the first book published by Alyssa Hughes Durfey. (Photo courtesy of Amazon.com)
“Once I wrote the first story, I hired an illustrator, who did an awesome job, and I started selling the book just in my network,” Hughes Durfey said. “Word spread across my previous classmates and colleagues and a friend asked when I was doing a book tour and if I could come to their school.”
So, Hughes Durfey said she talked to a few other elementary school teachers and principals she knew, networked a bit, and started planning her book tour.
“I did author readings at nine schools,” she said. “In elementary schools I talked about the importance of masks, hand washing and taking care of your friends. When I visited middle schools, I focused on the writing and publishing process and when I visited high schools, I spoke about my career as a scientist.”
Hughes Durfey visited nine schools in total during her book tour. (Photo courtesy of Hughes Durfey)
Hughes Durfey said the first book is COVID-19 and mask-wearing centered, and the next two are on topics of mental health and nutrition.
“It all loops public health concepts into fun stories for kids that parents love to read.” she said.
Hughes Durfey is earning a DrPH in clinical laboratory science and practice with a graduate certificate in humanitarian assistance at the COPH.
Outside of her time authoring books, Hughes Durfey is a change control quality engineer III with bioMerieux. She also works as the principal scientist with Dogwood Genomics where she consults on laboratory efficiency, validations and regulatory affairs and acts as a technical consultant for various labs. Lastly, she is a speaker at conferences and on podcasts and webinars on time management and balancing life.
“I hope these stories help normalize healthy practices and make them memorable for families,” Hughes Durfey said. “Part of every book sold is donated to a nonprofit that does something related to the story in the books. Those nonprofit groups are working in the public health trenches all over the world and I love supporting that effort.”
Her next two books are in various stages of writing and illustration. Both have already been picked up by a publisher.
To learn more, visit www.alyssadurfey.com. These books can be found online wherever books are sold. For a signed copy of the book at a discounted price, email alyssahughes@usf.edu with the message “Go Bulls!”