SHSP Hosts 2020 Virtual Career Mentor Session
The SHSP Student Healthcare Executives Club (StuHE) hosted another successful Career Mentor Session on November 12, via Zoom.
At the on-campus physically distanced command center in the cafeteria at 19 Skyline Drive, StuHE officers and volunteers seamlessly assigned students to their individual appointments in breakout rooms. The Zoom sessions were filled with intense discussions among the more than 45 students and alumni from the SHSP and ten public health professionals.
Best described as “speed mentoring,” students and alumni met one-on-one with mentors who reviewed their resumes and provided guidance and advice on careers in public health. The mentors represented a variety of areas within public health and health care including biostatistics, environmental health sciences, epidemiology, health promotion and community health, health policy and management, as well as executive recruiters.
Students used the opportunity to build their networking skills and learn how to market themselves to future employers. Overall, the mentors were impressed by the students’ professionalism, preparation and enthusiasm—qualities that were reflected in the pointed questions they asked.
“This is my favorite event of the year. The opportunity to network and meet professionals in our concentrations is invaluable,” said Bryan Batista, president of StuHe. “This year’s online format was especially important during the COVID-19 pandemic when networking is not as accessible as it was when we were on campus.”
Robert W. Amler, M.D., M.B.A., vice president for government affairs and dean of the School of Health Sciences and Practice, and Mark J. Kittleson, Ph.D., chair and professor in the Department of Public Health, welcomed the participants to the event. “We are thankful for the support of Dr. Kittleson, StuHe advisors Denise C. Tahara, Ph.D., associate professor of health policy and management, Michael P. Shakarjian, Ph.D., assistant professor of environmental health science and program director, and Cindy Jakubowski, administrator of the Department of Public Health, as well as the public health faculty,” said Mr. Batista. “The event would not have been a success without the command center staffed by StuHE members Emmanuel Akoto, Bryan Batista, Taylor Gerber, Ariana Polanco and Alejandra Puerta, as well as technical support by Michael Frankfurter from Educational Media.
