Student Spotlight: Meg Cotton, SPHP Program

Meg Cotton, deployed soldier and Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) Meg Cotton is an active duty service member, single mom, Registered Nurse, and an aspiring Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA). As a deployed soldier, she has chosen to take UNE’s SPHP classes for the flexibility of schedule and ease of access. Here she talks about being a student while on deployment, her experience with the coursework, and her goals for the future. What motivated you to take science prerequisites courses? I started at UNE taking the Medical Biochemistry course in anticipation of entering a doctoral program to become a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA). Why were you looking for online courses? I’m in the military, and it’s difficult to manage taking courses locally because of the uncertain nature of my… Read more >>
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Alumni Spotlight: Skip Wilhoit, Ed.D.

Skip Wilhoit, Ed.D. Skip Wilhoit, Ed.D. was recently awarded a $2.7 million dollar grant to benefit his K-12 school district. Here, he gives details about the grant he won, and how he used his real-life experience to shape his educational journey. Tell us a little about yourself and what kind of work you do After I served in the Army, I spent the first part of my civilian career in education as a teacher and coach. After that, I explored other options in TV and radio broadcasting, and I eventually found my way back into education. In 2002, I started work at the school district level, in the federal Safe and Drug-Free schools program. One of the major initiatives at that time was… Read more >>
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Student Spotlight: Amber Huff, Master's in Social Work Online

Student Spotlight: Amber Silva, MSW Amber Huff has overcome great obstacles to get her Master’s in Social Work online. Not only will she be the first in her family with an advanced degree, but this Mom of three will also be graduating with a 4.0 grade point average. A major source of her inspiration was to be a positive role model for her children, particularly her 11-year old daughter. Here, she talks about her experience entering the MSW program as an Advanced Standing student, and what she plans to do with her degree once she graduates! Can you tell us a bit about yourself and what encouraged you to pursue your Master’s in Social Work online? Sure! I’m 30 with three kids; I have an… Read more >>
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Student Spotlight: Fred Adhaya, MPH – Doctor of Education Program

Ed Adhaya, MPH graduate and Ed.D. student at UNE Online Fred Adhaya earned his Master of Public Health through UNE Online, and now he has returned to attain his terminal degree, a Doctor of Education. In this post, Fred discusses why he chose to pursue his Ed.D. with UNE, and how his MPH has helped him along that journey. You earned your MPH at UNE. What attracted you to continue with UNE for your Doctor of Education? The reason I chose to pursue the Doctor of Education, or Ed.D., following a successful MPH at UNE was a desire to more deeply understand the concept of leadership. I wanted to be able to hone my leadership skills and gain the skills to build a learning organization – concepts I… Read more >>
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Student Spotlight: Katelyn Beeley, Health Informatics Program

Katelyn Beeley, Health Informatics student Katelyn Beeley, RN, BSN is the Manager of Clinical Informatics under Medical Affairs for Maine Medical Center and a student in our health informatics program. Here, she talks about what led her to the field of health informatics, what she is learning from her studies, and about her experience with the UNE community. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself? Sure. I’ve worked for the state’s largest health care organization, MaineHealth, for 13 years now – but if you had asked me back then where I might be today, I would not likely have predicted the journey I am currently on. Once I acquired my nursing license, I began working as an inpatient nurse at the bedside, on… Read more >>
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Student Spotlight: Toho Soma, Health Informatics Program

Toho Soma Toho Soma is the Interim Director and Senior Research Associate in the Center for Excellence in Health Innovation at UNE. He is also the supervisor of a team of evaluators in the Center. Although he is currently pursuing his Master of Science in Health Informatics, his background is in public health. For ten years prior to coming to UNE, he worked within the City of Portland’s Public Health Division, the last two of which he was the Director of Public Health. Here, he talks about what motivated him to earn his master’s in health informatics, his experience in the program, and some words of wisdom for students considering this online graduate degree path. What encouraged you to pursue your master’s … Read more >>
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Alumni Spotlight: Monica Huelga, MPH

Monica Huelga, who completed her Master of Public Health practicum presentation on environmental health literacy, stands in front of the Pacific ocean with a sailboat in the background In celebration of our Graduate Programs in Public Health’s successful CEPH reaccreditation, we sat down with Monica Huelga, MPH ’18, who found herself at UNE Online rather serendipitously. Monica is passionate about the power of communication to promote global health and equality. She completed her applied practice experience on environmental health literacy at the non-profit MEarth Carmel while working at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Congratulations again on graduating last year! What inspired you to go for your MPH in the first place? I’ve always been drawn to health and distance studies. I received my undergrad from University of Washington in medical anthropology and global health, and I was trying to look at health in the bigger picture, the cultural perspective… Read more >>
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Student Spotlight: Frank Myers, MSW Program

Frank Myers Master of Social Work Frank Myers is a student in the Master of Social Work program at the University of New England. We spoke with Frank recently about what attracted him to the field of social work, his experience in the UNE Online program, and what drove him to create and host an outreach event for homeless people in his area. What got you interested in becoming a social worker? I was homeless and on my own when I was 11, so the homeless population has always been in my heart. For the past three years now I’ve been working full time with the homeless, but really I’ve been working with the homeless for pretty much all my life. I try to help out… Read more >>
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Student Spotlight: Justin Kenney, Science Prerequisite Program

Headshot of Justin Kenney, who transitioned from music school to medical school by taking online prerequisite courses through UNE Online. Ever since he can remember, Justin has always wanted to be a doctor–but his exceptional musical talent pulled him in a different direction after high school. Justin accepted a scholarship to study classical music at Vanderbilt University, where he graduated in 2014 with a BA in Classical Music. Prior to graduation, Justin started to realize that he couldn’t ignore his draw to the medical field, and soon he decided to pursue his childhood ambition of being a doctor. Continue reading to learn more about Justin’s journey from music major to studying for the MCAT, and all the online prerequisite courses for medical school he took in between. You must be pretty talented if you went to college on a music… Read more >>
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Student Spotlight, Jeffrey L. Brown, Ed.D. Program

Jeffrey Brown, Chief Information Officer, Martin's Point Healthcare, Ed.D. in Transformative Leadership candidate at UNE Online Jeffrey is currently in his third executive officer role as the Chief Information Officer for Martin’s Point Healthcare. When he felt that he’d reached a growth plateau, he took a year to research before choosing UNE’s Ed.D. to combine leadership skill acquisition, applied science, and applied research.

“The way each class builds on the next within the program, it literally all comes back to myself as a leader in my organization. I’ve experienced rapid-cycle development, seemingly on a weekly basis. Because of this program, I feel that I’ve accelerated my leadership thinking, comfort, and capability by leaps and bounds over the last two years. I can’t say enough about it. It’s been a remarkable experience.”
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Student Spotlight: Stephanie N. Marcotte, Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)

Stephanie Marcotte, an Ed.D. Student at UNE Online, holds multiple leadership roles Stephanie Marcotte is a student in the Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) program at the College of Graduate and Professional Studies here at the University of New England. She talks about her experience as an online student, how her educational leadership roles have developed throughout her time in the UNE Ed.D. program, and how her identity as a leader has changed throughout the program. What are your current leadership roles? Like many adjunct professors around the country, I work multiple jobs. While I believe in the establishment of full-time benefited teaching opportunities, I have learned a lot from wearing many hats. Currently, I am an adjunct professor of ESL within a credit-bearing community college academic ESL program, a teacher-trainer, a union… Read more >>
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Alumni Spotlight: Nicole Petrin, MSW Program

Nicole Petrin, social work mentor, with penguins Nicole Petrin is a student in the Master of Social Work program at UNE Online. She has her undergraduate degree in social work, works in the field, and is also very active as a mentor for rising social workers. She just recently returned from an international social work conference in South Africa, and she shares her experiences with us here. Can you tell me a bit about yourself, and what encouraged you to pursue your Master’s in Social Work? I am originally from Rhode Island, where during my childhood and adolescence I was a very active member of Girl Scouts, even going on to earn the highest achievement in Girl Scouting, the Girl Scout Gold Award. My early exposure to… Read more >>
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Alumni Spotlight: Mike Wilber, Ed.D.

Selfie of Mike Wilber, Ed.D. Dr. Mike Wilber, an Ed.D. graduate, is an Adult Basic Education Instructor at the Delaware Department of Education Adult and Prison Education Resources Division in Wilmington, Delaware, helping inmates earn their GEDs and learn job skills. He is also a GED Instructor in the Adult Education Division of James H. Groves Adult High School. Dr. Wilber’s Ed.D. dissertation was designed to examine a particular aspect of the prison population in order to look at the problem of recidivism from a different angle. It’s challenging work, but Dr. Wilber’s passion for teaching and serving others is evident through his most recent award: Region II Teacher Of the Year for 2018. We sat down with Dr. Wilber recently to talk about his… Read more >>
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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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Ambassador Spotlight: Janet Quiring – Health Informatics Program

Student Spotlight Janet Quiring Health Informatics program Janet Quiring is a student in the Master of Science in Health Informatics program here at UNE Online. We spoke with her recently about her thoughts on the program, how she leveraged her strengths to find her practicum placement, and what aspects of real-life cybersecurity her practicum is exposing her to. Can you tell me a little bit about yourself, and what encouraged you to pursue your Master’s in Health Informatics? I’ve had a career in the pharmaceutical industry for many years now. The industry is great, and I’ve enjoyed it, but at some point, you step back and look at how the market is changing. I’ve seen the whole dynamic of medicine shift, and I felt that I… Read more >>
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Alumni Spotlight: Rachael Flaxman, Education Program

Rachael Flaxman Rachael Flaxman is an elementary school teacher in Maine and a student in our online MSEd program. We celebrated Teacher Appreciation Week by speaking with some of our students who have dedicated their professional lives to education. Teachers make a profound impact on the lives they touch, so we want to honor some of these very special teachers who are also our students, and who are making a difference every single day in their classroom. Happy Teacher Appreciation Week! Can you tell me a little bit about yourself, and what encouraged you to pursue your Master’s in Education? I was a little bit later coming to teaching. I didn’t start teaching until I was about 30. We lived in California… Read more >>
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Student Spotlight: Dr. Puneet Saini, MPH Program

Dr. Puneet Saini Student in the Master of Public Health MPH program at UNE Online Dr. Puneet Saini is a native of Madison, WI, and a second-year MPH student at UNE Online. Having completed his M.D., he is looking to complement and add more value to his education, and also delve more deeply into the realms of public administration and policy-making in order to bring about change on a global level. Can you tell me a little bit about yourself, and what encouraged you to pursue your Master’s in Public Health? I was born in America and come from a multi-cultural family. Growing up in this diverse mix of different ethnicities and cultures made me very aware of the world, and I learned early on to respect other people’s values, ideas, and ways of life.… Read more >>
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Student Spotlight: Kylie Bragdon, Ed.D. Program

Kylie Bragdon Ed.D. student Recently, we spoke with UNE graduate Kylie Bragdon ’11, Ed.D. ’18 who is running for the Maine State House of Representatives in District 136 this coming November. Bragdon has an undergraduate degree in Mathematics from UNE and is currently working on her Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) here at the College of Graduate and Professional Studies. She’s studying the effect of K-12 education on the lobster industry in Maine. Update July 23, 2019: Kylie Bragdon joined Maine Ocean School as executive director and serves as chair of the board of selectman in Winter Harbor. Can you tell me a little bit about yourself, and what encouraged you to pursue your Ed.D.? I graduated from UNE in 2011 with my B.S. in… Read more >>
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Ambassador Spotlight: Jacqueta Miles, MSW Program

Jacqueta Miles MSW Student Jacqueta Miles is a student in the Master of Social Work program at UNE Online. Despite a number of challenges, she never gave up on the pursuit of her Master’s degree and her commitment to the field of social work. Read her story, and see what advice she has for incoming students. What encouraged you to pursue your Master’s in Social Work? Growing up, I lived between my mom’s and my grandmother’s houses. My grandmother took me, my sisters, and my cousins in – we all grew up pretty much like sisters. She’s was always teaching us to help, and so growing up, I discovered that I have a heart for people. I love to help. I was in the… Read more >>
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Ambassador Spotlight: Melanie Berdyck, MSAN Program

Melanie Berdyck Melanie Berdyck is a dietitian and student in the UNE Online Master’s of Science in Applied Nutrition program. We spoke to Melanie recently about her work, her online graduate school experience, and her thoughts about the Applied Nutrition program. What encouraged you to pursue your Master’s in Applied Nutrition? I earned my Bachelor’s of Science in Dietetics in 2008, and I’ve been working in the field as a dietitian for about ten years now. Most of the people I work with have advanced degrees, and I’ve always had the feeling that there was so much more to learn – so I decided to go back to school. I figure that I have about another 40 years or so working in… Read more >>
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Student Spotlight: Stephanie N. Brown, Ed.D. Program

Stephanie Brown Can you tell me a little bit about your background? My name is Stephanie Brown and I am an adjunct English as a Second Language (ESL) professor. I honestly love what I do. There is nothing like teaching, especially teaching English learners. I learn so much from my students, probably more than they learn from me. Every day my students open my eyes to the world – not just in terms of content, but with their lived experiences. I am honored to know, work, and support these amazing people. They work so hard and give so much. Their passion and dedication are what keeps me alive: as a human and as a teacher. Outside of teaching, I have also taken… Read more >>
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Alumni Spotlight: Dr. Joel Lowsky, Ed.D.

Dr. Joel Lowsky, Ed.D. Graduate Dr. Joel Lowsky is a recent graduate of UNE Online’s Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) Program. We recently spoke with him about his career, his research, and plans for the future. Can you tell me a little bit about your background? I earned my bachelor’s degree in humanistic studies and English literature; two areas for which it’s tough to find a job! So I went back to school and earned another diploma, this time in Computer Programming. This gave me access to work in the corporate world, in technology. I went on to get a great job implementing software at large corporations, but after a few years, I felt that I wanted a more meaningful work experience. Career twist The… Read more >>
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Alumni Spotlight: Dr. Vicki Rusbult, Ed.D. – Education Program

Dr. Vicki Rusbult, Ed.D. UNE Online Alumna Dr. Vicki Rusbult fulfilled a lifelong dream last May and graduated from the College of Graduate and Professional Studies with her Ed.D. And it turns out that her dissertation wasn’t only interesting to her faculty advisor… The ‘National Association of Development Organizations (NADO) Rural Transportation National Newsletter’ recently published a link to her full dissertation in their national newsletter. We’re so thrilled for Dr. Rusbult and her impressive national exposure! We spoke with Dr. Rusbult to talk about her professional career, and how her Ed.D. from UNE Online is opening doors and helping further her work. Here’s a little more about how she is putting her Ed.D. to good use: What was your experience like, getting… Read more >>
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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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