Graduate Student 'Attends' Class from the Middle East

Rose Giescke completed her online certification in Clinical Pathology from her home in Israel.

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Rose Giescke doesn't fit the typical image of a student at UMass Lowell. Currently stationed at the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv, Giescke and her husband have lived in Israel for the past three years. After deciding she wanted to pursue a graduate certification in Clinical Pathology, Giescke found the UML online program.

"I enjoyed all of the courses and professors," says Giescke. "I particularly enjoyed Dr. Theodore Namm's Molecular Genetics course."

Giescke, a research assistant in a subspecialty field known as Environment, Science, Technology and Health (ESTH), attributes receiving two awards while at the embassy to her online studies. She received two Meritorious Service Awards for reporting and liaising with public health and veterinary officials during the outbreak of Avian Influenza in Israel and the Gaza Strip, and for overall performance in the Science and Technology Office at the embassy. She is now working on her doctoral dissertation.

"The online program is well-designed and the professors are phenomenal," says Giescke. "The program offers adult learners a very convenient continuing education option that can be completed from anywhere in the world."