Ambassador Spotlight: Emily Bartlett, MPH Program

Emily Bartlett, MPH Student UNE Online Ambassadors have been recognized by the College of Graduate and Professional Studies for being exemplary students and enthusiastic members of the UNE Online community. UNE Online Ambassadors serve as liaisons between our extended community and UNE Online, setting a precedent and standard for what it means to be a UNE Online student and community member. Emily Bartlett is a public health student and noted UNE Online Ambassador. Can you tell me a little about your background, and why you chose to earn your MPH at UNE Online? I’m from Maine, so I’ve known about UNE for a long time now. I got my undergraduate degree at The University of King’s College in Nova Scotia, majoring in International Development… Read more >>
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Reflections of an Online Student: My First Grad Course

Crystal Dee, MSAN Applied Nutrition Student For a while now I have known that {for me} going back to school was absolutely necessary. It took some time to get to the point where I was comfortable pulling the trigger and picking a program. It also took a lot of soul searching. I looked at topics everywhere from Psychology/Counseling to an MBA. Nothing really seemed to fit. That is until my love for health and nutrition seeped into my work life. From scratch, I started our company’s first step challenge. We did a trial run in our office and it really took off. There were “walking meetings” and “walking lunch breaks” taking place. All so their team could achieve the most steps and so that they… Read more >>
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Student Spotlight: Greg Murphy, MSEd – Education Program

Greg Murphy, MSEd Student Can you tell me a little about your background? Sure thing. I grew up in Andover, Massachusetts. As a kid my interests revolved around art, tinkering with electronics and making music. Music eventually became a serious pursuit. In my 20’s I moved to Boston to play in bands, something I continued while studying art at universities in Brooklyn, and Portland, Oregon. Oregon is where I eventually earned my Bachelors in art history and design. As part of the program, I interned as an art teacher in various schools, getting experience in the field of education that led to a move abroad. I spent three years teaching English in Korea and Eastern Europe. I’m at a public school in Taiwan now.… Read more >>
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Student Spotlight: Stephanie N. Brown, Ed.D. Program

Stephanie Brown Stephanie is an adjunct English as a Second Language (ESL) professor, a Fulbright Advisor, the President-Elect of the Northern New England chapter of Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (NNETESOL), and the Reviews Editor for the Massachusetts Association of Teachers of Speakers of Other Languages (MATSOL). Her passion for the advancement of ESL led her to UNE's online Ed.D.

“Due to the current state of ESL, I know that I need to do more and learn more in order to help create change. My students have been through countless hardships, many of which I couldn’t even fathom. They deserve more. My desire to be a good educator, leader, and advocate drove me to pursue a doctoral degree with a focus on educational and transformative leadership.”
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Student Spotlight: Vandna Bhambri, Health Informatics Program

Vadna Bhambri, MSIN Student Vandna Bhambri is a Master of Science in Health Informatics (MSIN) student from Boston, Massachusetts. With a desire to help people within the healthcare field and a passion for technology, health informatics was a natural career choice. “I knew that there was a demand for Health Informatics and a limitless world of possibilities for what I could do with an advanced degree.” After growing up in the northwest suburbs of Chicago, Vandna earned a bachelor’s degree in biological sciences from the University of Illinois-Chicago. She’s currently working in a role that ties into the health informatics field. Her job is focused on training hospital staff, super users and end users on how to use Epic software at a top medical… Read more >>
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Student Spotlight: Carley Anderson, MPH – Public Health Program

Carley Anderson MPH Student I came to the field of public health nearly by happenstance. I had just finished my undergraduate degree in music which, while fulfilling, didn’t equip me with tangible ways to make a meaningful, practical difference in my community. After graduation, I began working as an administrator in a medical clinic at a military installation, and a year later was assigned to work in the public health program despite no previous experience. I quickly saw public health was a field with unending opportunities – constant opportunities to learn, to benefit the community, and to make a lasting difference in the lives of others. I began networking with other public health staff in similar roles, and soon developed a strong relationship with… Read more >>
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Alumni Spotlight: Dr. Vicki Rusbult, Ed.D. – Education Program

Dr. Vicki Rusbult, Ed.D. Vicki wanted to take on structured research to provide insight into factors contributing to the transportation gap in rural Maine. She was later invited to present the findings from her dissertation at the National Association of Development Organizations (NADO) National Regional Transportation Conference. She’s now participating in statewide public transportation planning groups to further spread her discoveries, and even created a partnership to expand broadband internet capacity to rural Maine communities.

“I thought the field of Education would be more heavily represented among my Ed.D. classmates, but that wasn’t the case at all. While there were a significant amount of educators as I expected, we also had many professionals from a variety of industries, representing a large spectrum of professional backgrounds.”
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Student Spotlight: Jackson Long – Applied Nutrition Program

Jackson Long, Student in the Master of Science in Applied Nutrition program Jackson Long, a Master of Science in Applied Nutrition student from Boulder, Colorado, is passionate about plant-based eating and living a healthy lifestyle. Jackson’s interest in nutrition was piqued during his time as a competitive cyclist, as he sought out the optimal diet for his athletic performance. His initial interest in nutrition gradually grew into a passion for helping others on their own health journeys, which ultimately led him to UNE. From Competitive Cycling to Nutrition Growing up in Sun Valley, Idaho, Jackson participated in and loved outdoor sports from a young age. He spent much of his free time skiing and then later got into cycling. This passion for physical fitness led Jackson to study integrated physiology at the… Read more >>
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Alumni Spotlight: Tyler Blankenship – Applied Nutrition Program

Tyler Blankenship, Master of Science in Applied Nutrition Student Tyler Blankenship, Dietetic Technician, Registered (DTR), from Orlando, Florida, is a student in the Master of Science in Applied Nutrition program. Tyler’s background includes working as a chef at Walt Disney World, as a restaurant nutritionist at Sea World and also in nutrition management at a long term care facility. From Chef to Dietary Management Prior to beginning his master’s degree with UNE, Tyler flexed his culinary chops working as both a sous chef and nutritionist at Walt Disney World in Orlando. Armed with degrees in culinary arts and culinary nutrition from Johnson & Wales University, Tyler cooked at Four Star, Five Diamond restaurants at Disney. With a developing interest in nutrition, he moved on to a nutritionist position for… Read more >>
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Student Spotlight: Laura Rosales – Applied Nutrition Program

Laura Rosales, RN - Master's in Applied Nutrition Student Laura Rosales, R.D. is a Master of Science in Applied Nutrition (MSAN) student from El Paso, Texas. She’s a busy working mother who enjoys the academic challenge of pursuing her master’s degree while managing her daily schedule. Prior to beginning her degree with UNE, Laura gained extensive experience in many areas related to the field of nutrition. Pursuing a master’s degree in nutrition had been a goal of Laura’s for a long time and she is thrilled to be taking this next step online with the University of New England. A diverse career Currently Laura works as a nutrition consultant educating families, caregivers and individuals with special needs on dietary requirements, conducting dietary assessments and developing eating plans. Laura believes… Read more >>
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Student Spotlight: Thomas Troelstrup, MPH Program

Thomas Troelstrup, MPH “Thanks to this terrific program, I was just offered my dream job on Tuesday as a Foodborne Disease Outbreak Epidemiologist for the Tennessee Department of Health in Nashville! I never thought I would land it by the age of 28!” MPH student Thomas Troelstrup reached out to us with some exciting news about his career this week, so we wanted to connect with him to talk about his new opportunity and his experience with UNE! Like so many MPH students, Thomas came to study Public Health in a somewhat roundabout way. After high school, he attended community college, playing college baseball and majoring in History. Shortly thereafter, he was offered the opportunity to transfer to UNC Greensboro, to play… Read more >>
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