Meet Our Team: Holland Wegner

Holland Wegner is an Enrollment Counselor for our advanced degree programs in Health Informatics and Applied Nutrition.

At UNE Online, students are our top priority and their success is what drives each and every one of us to do what we do.

We’d like to share a little bit about the people on our team who are dedicated to making that happen every day.

Holland enjoys building relationships with prospective students and likes knowing that the conversations he has with them might spark a significant and positive life change. When Holland isn’t on campus at the UNE Online office, he can be found spending time outdoors, experimenting with photography, or exploring Portland’s many cultural offerings.

What do you do at UNE Online?

I’m an enrollment counselor for the Health Informatics graduate programs, as well as the Master of Science in Applied Nutrition program. This means that I’m here to help answer questions about the programs and guide prospective students through the application process. I’m their first point of contact and I stay with them all the way up through acceptance and introduction to their Student Support Specialist.

At conferences, people ask me if I’m a recruiter but I don’t think of myself this way. Rather, I think of myself as someone who gives the prospective student all the information available so they can make an informed decision. If the student’s career aspirations line up with our program, that’s great, but the most important thing is that they are making the decision that’s right for them.

Where are you from?

I’m from Woodstock, in Central Vermont. Not the Woodstock where the concert was, that was held in Bethel, New York.  Woodstock is a small town – my graduating class only had 100 students, pulled in from 9 surrounding towns.

What’s your favorite dessert?

Ice cream, specifically Ben and Jerry’s. I’m Vermont through and through. Sugar On Snow, fresh maple syrup drizzled over snow, would be a close second for my favorite dessert. Growing up, my neighbors made their own maple syrup. So, every year, we would go down to their place and pour freshly boiled maple syrup, cooled just a bit, over snow. It’s delicious.

What’s the best professional advice you’ve received?

Be honest, regardless of the situation. My dad told me this growing up. It applies to all areas of life.

What’s on your desk?

I always have lots of post-it notes. I also have a zen garden with sand and a rake, although my colleagues probably use it more than I do.

What’s your favorite part about what you do here?

My favorite part of my job is the relationships that I build by talking with students. I like knowing that what I do here impacts people’s lives in a positive way moving forward. Deciding to get a new advanced degree is a major decision, and often a substantial career change for lots of people, and it’s exciting to be a spark that drives that.

If you could eat one thing for the rest of your life what would it be?

I could eat pizza every day, especially Otto and Slab [local favorites]. If I could throw in one Mexican night a week that would help.

Favorite book?

I’m kind of nerdy. I’ve always been into the Lord of the Rings books and the fantasy and sci-fi genres. I typically side more with authors than individual books – J.R.R. Tolkien, Paulo Coelho, Hermann Hesse, Kurt Vonnegut… I was an English major, so I can’t choose just one.

What’s your favorite thing about living in Maine?

Everything at this point! I moved here a couple years back and love the culture, especially the local music scene. Living in Portland is great because it keeps me by the ocean, right near the mountains, and still only three hours from Vermont. Portland is the perfectly sized city.

Do you have a secret talent?

I’m into photography and I won a study abroad photo competition at my alma mater, UNH, with a picture I took when I visited Holland. I was studying abroad in London at the time and took a side trip to Holland with some friends. While we were there, we asked someone at the train station where we could go to see windmills. We went to the place they suggested and I took some pictures. When I got back and showed my family the photos of the windmills, my parents told me that that was the exact place they visited while backpacking in Holland years ago before I was born. I found my namesake.

Photo Credit Holland Wegner

What’s your ideal Sunday?

Assuming it’s summer, I would want to either be in the woods or on the beach…anything outdoors.

Stay tuned for more of our team profiles! And in the meantime, click here to learn more about our Graduate Programs in Health Informatics or click here to learn more about our Graduate Programs in Applied Nutrition. 

Interested in applying to UNE Online? The sooner you apply, the sooner you hear back. Fill out an online application today at online.une.edu/gateway-portal-page!