Katherine Dzenis, left, infection prevention specialist at Elliot Hospital in Manchester, New Hampshire, says that public health major Veronica Chea ’26, right, was a quick learner in her role as an infection prevention intern.
When public health students intern for health and community organizations, they don’t just gain experience — many become valued contributors.
Katherine Dzenis, infection prevention specialist at Elliot Hospital in Manchester, New Hampshire, says that public health major Veronica Chea ’26 came along at just the right time.
“I was a little worried about onboarding a student during the onset of cold and flu season because it’s our busiest time of the year, but Veronica is a rock star,” says Dzenis. “We were short a staff member, so I was grateful that Veronica was a quick learner and a professional with a passion for making a difference in health care.”
As an infection prevention intern at Elliot Hospital, Chea assists with infection surveillance, including the tracking of organisms such as MRSA and other multidrug-resistant organisms. The capstone experience, which earns Chea six credits as a public health major, provides an opportunity to apply what she’s learned in the classroom to real-world challenges.
“I have applied many skills from my public health coursework, including epidemiologic thinking, data analysis and health communication,” says Chea. “I’ve also learned how important attention to detail and critical thinking are when working with real patient data.”
In his internship for Healthy Youth Coalition, Shakeel Kawuba handed out postcards at the State House that encouraged legislators to bring the Healthy Youth Act to the floor for a vote.
Shakeel (Shaq) Kawuba ’26 is also filling an essential role as an intern for the Healthy Youth Coalition, a statewide organization that advocates for the health and well-being of the state’s youth, including better sex education in Massachusetts schools. He engages with students and school committees, develops educational activities and manages the coalition’s social media.
Co-chair of the Healthy Youth Coalition Jamie Klufts says that Kawuba’s energy and ideas are important to the success of their work.
“Shaq brings a youthful perspective to our organization and has greatly expanded our capacity to do meaningful community engagement work,” says Klufts, who offered Kawuba the internship for his capstone experience at the end of their first meeting. “I knew that the public health training he was receiving at UML and his eagerness to learn and contribute were the perfect combination of experiences, skills and attributes for our highly dynamic and grassroots work.”
Kawuba says that the internship opened his eyes about how to engage people.
“My time with the Healthy Youth Coalition taught me that providing incentives and making learning fun is so important, even for adults,” says Kawuba. “Teaching traditionally taboo topics in a more lighthearted manner can do a lot to put people at ease and make them more receptive to information that will help them live healthier lives.”
Students Test Career Paths Through Experiences
Through internships, students refine their career goals. Some discover a role isn’t what they imagined, others gain confidence that they’re on the right path, and many build skills they’ll apply in their future clinical work.
Take Jillian MacLean ’25, ’26, a student in the Master of Public Health in Dietetics program who earned a bachelor’s degree in nutritional sciences. Before her supervised practice at North Reading Public Schools for her MPH degree, MacLean thought food service directors were only in charge of managing people who worked in the kitchen.
“I discovered that a food service director has an extensive amount of tasks such as creating menus and events, as well as ordering food and managing and scheduling personnel,” says MacLean. “I am very grateful that the UMass Lowell MPH in Dietetics program requires three separate rotations — community, food service and clinical — so I found that I would love a career in food service management.”
For Chea, her hands-on experience at Elliot Hospital confirmed that she chose the right career path.
“This internship has deepened my interest in infection prevention, epidemiology and data-driven health care, and it’s strengthened my confidence in pursuing a career where I can contribute to improving patient outcomes on a systems level,” she says.
Kawuba, whose career goal is to work as a physician assistant, says the skills he learned with the Healthy Youth Coalition are transferable to his future as a clinician.
“I developed skills such as taking the initiative and understanding when I can insert myself to make an impact,” says Kawuba.