Graduate Students

Before Aaron Stella graduated from the medical laboratory science program, he had more job offers than he knew what to do with.

A practicum in infection prevention at a hospital prepared Abdul Hameed for a job with the CDC, preventing the spread of the novel coronavirus in hospitals and other health-care facilities.

Honors chemistry major Abigail Giarrosso helped develop a safer paint-stripper at her work-study job at the Toxics Use Reduction Institute. She stayed to pursue her master's and has taken on her next research challenge: finding an alternative to acetone-based removers for gel manicures.

One faculty member opened a door for Adeja Crearer, and it changed her life.

Akshay Alamuri says UMass Lowell fit his family’s budget – and his own goal of becoming a physical therapist.

UTeach graduate Alexander Eden won the Exemplary New Teacher Award for science education in his first year of teaching.

Allyson Toppi never thought she could work in robotics. An internship at Brooks Automation changed her mind – and turned into a full-time job.

Through leadership opportunities as a student-athlete, exercise physiology graduate Amanda Baptiste found her voice — and discovered her calling to become a high school biology teacher.

Andrew Farkas, chief operating officer at Boston MedFlight, returned to college after 35 years to complete his M.S. in health informatics, with a specialization in management.

With a dissertation on social media’s role in the entrepreneurial process, Thailand’s Atthaphon Mumi became the first graduate of the Manning School of Business’ Ph.D. in entrepreneurship program.

As a 1982 graduate with a degree in English, Beth Donaghey took a temporary job as a secretary at the university, just for a year. She never left.

Cassie Harding’s internship experiences as a public health student inspired her to tackle the big health and wellness challenges facing people in the cities and towns around her.

Her master’s degree in public health and research experiences helped Chandni Shahdev get a job with the CDC Foundation, working with employers to prevent and contain outbreaks of COVID-19.

A scholarship endowed in memory of the late English teacher and lecturer Socrates Lagios helped Christina Sirignano complete her master’s degree in education during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Christine Vaudo returned to school after a long gap to earn a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the Manning School of Business and then decided to pursue her master’s degree in business analytics.

A former carpenter sidelined by the recession, Christopher Ingemi went back to school at Middlesex Community College and then transferred to UML. Now, thanks to his job in a lab, he’s completed his master’s in civil engineering and found a great job as a bridge designer.

An elbow injury may have thrown the promising baseball career of Collin Duffley for a curve, but fortunately he still has his nuclear engineering career to fall back on.

Cora Casteel says mathematics will help her with a career in policing and criminal justice policy.

Daniel Howell spent several years addressing the opioid epidemic in Lowell. Now, he’s working on a pandemic: COVID-19.

Dean Kennedy always dreamed of a career at Disney. The experience he gained and connections he made while earning his bachelor’s and master’s in mechanical engineering helped make that dream come true.

By constantly building his network, Dennis Patel ’19 ’20 made the most of his undergraduate and graduate education — and landed a global supply chain analyst co-op job at Lockheed Martin.

Retired MBTA Transit Police Sgt. Dic Donohue finished his master’s degree in 2012. Less than a year later, he was shot during a police firefight with the Boston Marathon bombers. After earning his Ph.D. in criminology, he’s taking a job with the RAND Corp.

Honors student Edina Hirt faced hurdles from learning English to battling Hodgkin’s lymphoma while working toward her degree. Still, she won an award for her dedication to community service.

Elsabel Rincon started a nonprofit to help immigrants.

Inspired by his mother’s careers in health care and business, Emmanuel Idehen-Ovabor is working toward a master’s in health care administration while also pursuing his dream of becoming a pediatrician.

Erin Monahan finds value in learning principles applicable to a wide range of arts and humanities-based organizations. She is getting professional experience as an archivist through an internship at the Thoreau Institute at Walden Woods.

Toronto native Frank Stegnar excelled in the classroom and on the ice as an undergrad at UMass Lowell, so he chose to get his MBA online from the Manning School of Business.

George Dylan Bistany completed his master’s degree abroad in fall 2019 at the Czech Technical University in Prague.

Motivated to help patients regain strength to live their best possible lives, Haley LaFreniere was inspired early on by her mom to pursue a health-related field.

Haylee Dussault was a part of the first class of students in the Master of Public Heath Dietetics program. Shortly after graduation, she passed the registered dietitian exam and landed her dream job.

2021 Student Commencement Speaker Jamie Smorczewski knows what it means to persevere, over injury, health issues, the pandemic and life’s curveballs.

Jane El Hachem, a former journalist from Lebanon, is earning a master’s degree in Peace and Conflict Studies. Her goal is to help with peace efforts in the Middle East.

Jessica Amedee interned at the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce as the university’s first Civic Action Project fellow. The program for UMass graduate students in public policy and related fields introduced her to a network of inspiring professionals.

John Kilgo VI began working at MITRE Corporation more than three years ago as an intern, when he was a UMass Lowell undergraduate. Now, he’s employed there full time as a software systems engineer, while enrolled part time in the master’s program in computer science.

When music education major Joshua Santana teaches local grade-schoolers to play violin through the university’s String Project, he connects with them because he was once in their shoes.

Juan Boungou, a former Fulbright Fellow, started a nonprofit for underprivileged youth in the Republic of the Congo. Now he’s earning his Ph.D. in global studies to expand his learning and his impact.

Jyotik Savaj, who is enrolled in the Master of Science in Energy Engineering/Solar Program, aims to help fulfill the need for solar power and has a paid co-op job at Exyte, an engineering and project management company specializing in high-tech facilities.

Kady Phelps came to UMass Lowell to major in education, but history caught up with her. She earned her master’s degree in history and the Excellence in Students Cultural Heritage Award for her work on an exhibit about Portuguese immigration to Lowell.

Science teacher Karin Loach says UMass Lowell’s well-paced and structured online Doctor of Education program was a perfect fit.

Karina Cruz appreciates the flexibility, small classes and in-depth administrative skills she’s learning, from how to change public policy to managing a diverse workforce.

Kate Killion came to UML because it’s the only university in New England that offers a dietetics degree with a public health perspective.

Katherine Moses ’12 came to Lowell to get a master’s degree in energy engineering. She fell in love with the city and has worked as Lowell’s energy manager since 2014, helping it become more energy efficient while also partnering with UML on sustainability projects.

Katie McGourty took advantage of UML's Bachelor’s-to-Master’s program and completed her master’s in one year. She landed a job with Pfizer Inc. in the inflammation and immunology department before she graduated.

Honors student Kripa Joseph is earning her B.A. and M.A. in Peace and Conflict Studies in four years, while minoring in music and pursuing internships that promote diversity and respect among cultures.

Kristina Ogbarmey-Tetteh took advantage of the Zuckerberg College of Health Sciences’ Student Resource Center as a first-year student, and now she’s a tutor there.

Kyleigh Clark-Moorman is interested in how best to prepare inmates to rejoin their communities. She’s gotten a broad range of research and teaching experiences in the doctoral program in criminology.

Lauren Gary transferred to UMass Lowell to study psychology and work with people with disabilities. Thanks to faculty advice, she entered the bachelor’s-to-master’s program in autism studies – and found a job in her field before finishing her undergraduate degree.

Software engineer Laurie Agel was looking for a career change in her 40s. Fifteen years later, she has her Ph.D. in marine sciences and technology from UML and is working as a post-doctoral research assistant, studying extreme precipitation and flooding in the Charles and Mystic river basins.

Just a couple of months after graduating with a master’s degree in atmospheric science, Lena Dziechowski landed a breakthrough job as a television meteorologist.

UML prepared Lianna Partee for a career that she’s passionate about. After completing her nursing degree here and working as a registered nurse for a year, she returned to earn a master’s degree in gerontological nursing.

Lindsey Roberts worked her way through the clinical laboratory science program and a master’s degree, too. Now she’s the laboratory supervisor at Lowell Community Health Center.

Her Ph.D. research at UMass Lowell won Lisa Thompson a rare research assistantship at the National Institute of Justice.

Her experiences in the Honors College and in a college readiness program, Let’s Get Ready, helped Marilyn Saha get a job at Raytheon Technologies.

Matthew Olson, dean of humanities and social science at Middlesex Community College, says there is a direct connection between the doctorate he earned in Leadership in Schooling and his current job.

A service-learning capstone in Lowell and Haiti transformed Maureen Kelly’s civil engineering education — and her life. She now works for a firm that supports her ongoing volunteer work in Haiti and her mentoring of current students.

After 12 years working as a registered nurse at Lowell General Hospital, Meredith Ritze developed specialized skills caring for people who struggle with urology issues. She applied to UMass Lowell to become a nurse practitioner to further her career.

Marine Corps reservist Michael Venetti says the Peace and Conflict Studies master’s program helped him win a Presidential Management Fellowship to work at the U.S. State Department.

Once Michelle Palladino started taking courses in nutrition as an undergraduate, she knew right away that she wanted a career in the field of nutrition and dietetics.

As a technical program manager with the U.S. Navy, Mike Taskoski had his pick of MBA programs. He chose UMass Lowell based on the reputation of its online program.

Mindasari Daniar's upbringing in Indonesia inspired her to study nutrition. She now works at Massachusetts General Hospital in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and is pursing her Master of Public Health degree.

Already on track for a successful marketing career in Pakistan, Moiz Khan has shifted gears to pursue a master’s in business analytics from the Manning School of Business.

Biology teacher Morgan Tierno’s student teaching and first year on the job were complicated by the COVID-19 pandemic and major social issues. But, she says, UTeach prepared her for those challenges.

Neeti Kothari left a job at Big Four accounting firm Deloitte in her native India to pursue a Master of Science in business analytics at UMass Lowell. Despite the pandemic, she landed a summer internship at software company PTC in Boston.

Neil Oliveria, already a grandfather, is pursuing degrees in history and education so he can embark on a new career as a teacher.

When Nicole Cruz Merced overcame her shyness and reached out to a professor, it changed her life.

Nicole Haas always knew she wanted a career helping people. The Master of Public Health major landed an internship with the Revive Recovery Center and is taking on one of the most challenging public health crises of the last 20 years: the opioid epidemic.

Pablo Ruiz returned to school for a second bachelor’s degree, and he’s going on for his master’s degree, too.

A chance encounter with a professor led to an amazing research opportunity. Now Qurat Ann is researching the pros and cons of sex offender registration laws as she pursues a Ph.D.

Knowing how cultural differences make an impact on health, Rabia Haider is pursuing a Master of Public Health degree.

Pakistan native Ramsha Farooq ’19 came all the way to UMass Lowell for her master’s degree in electrical engineering. She’s staying in the area after landing a “perfect job” as an electrical engineer at Black & Veatch in Burlington, Mass.

Rianna Grissom does research on how stereotypes and prejudices affect biracial and multiracial people.

Roberto Rivera combined a B.A. in English literature and Spanish and Italian with a master’s degree in education to become an ESL teacher in the Lawrence schools.

Rohann Nair was torn about whether to pursue a master of science degree or an MBA. Instead of choosing, he opted for both by enrolling in UMass Lowell’s master’s degree in engineering management.

In the Master of Public Administration program, Ron Pannell is learning skills he can apply to his job in the Office of Student Engagement at Middlesex Community College – and later, in a housing agency.

Sarah Golding works with young people transitioning to adulthood while coping with mental illness. She says the Master of Public Administration program is giving her the right balance of core administrative skills and deep knowledge to help her advocate for her clients.

For this sound recording technology grad, it’s all between the ears.

After earning a master's degree in criminal justice, Sean Perry plans to pursue a Ph.D. in criminology with the ultimate goal of becoming a professor or private sector or government researcher whose studies could help improve police departments or criminal justice systems.

Shannon Gray started earning her master's degree in Public Health with a focus on epidemiology as an undergraduate. Her internship with the Uxbridge Board of Health broadened her exposure to the role public health professionals play and strengthened her skills.

Shruti Jain came to UMass Lowell for its hands-on teaching approach. She’s gotten lots of opportunities to apply what she’s learning – as well as a coveted internship with Red Hat.

After 35 years at General Electric, Stephen Johnson earned a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering, where he developed a software tool that shows wind turbine blade manufacturers whether automation can save time and money.

Suparlan Lingga ’17 came to UMass Lowell to further his education in public health. Now he coordinates the Indonesian government’s work with UNICEF to improve child and maternal health, education and safety.

Surbhi Kanthed’s team won a huge hackathon for women students – and now she is working at Red Hat.

Susan Mullaney, who earned a doctorate in nursing practice in 2015, is a vice president at UnitedHealth Group, where she focuses on keeping seniors healthy. She joined the board of the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, which sets curriculum standards for nursing degrees.

Tara Lynch's experience during her undergraduate psychology program practicum working with a community agency to improve outcomes for rape survivors led her to pursue a Master of Public Health.

Before starting his Ph.D. in atmospheric science at UMass Lowell, Tyler Harrington interned at the Federal Aviation Administration, where he wrote a report for Congress on how extreme weather events affect air travel.

Veyli Ortiz Solis earned a B.S. in criminal justice in just three years – with a perfect 4.0 GPA.