Spotlight
Graduation 2020
Stories from the Class of 2020
Learn more about some of the thoughtful, caring, brilliant and resilient students who make up Rutgers School of Health Professions's 2020 graduating class. We couldn't be prouder. We are looking forward to honoring every one of our graduates on May 22 at 11 a.m. See the stories.
Anything is Possible for Jessica Easton
Jessica Easton was determined to graduate from her M.S. in Health Care Management degree program regardless of the obstacles put in her pathway.

In December, she was diagnosed with Stage 4 kidney failure and spent 10 days in the hospital receiving treatment, including chemotherapy. During those 10 days, her application to the Internal Review Board was due for her capstone: the final step separating her from her diploma.

“I was not going to give up,” Jessica said. “It was not an option.”

Nutrition Graduate Jumps into New Job in Midst of Pandemic
She graduated in January, passed her registered dietitian exam in February, and the following month, began work at a hospital in Brooklyn - in one of the nation’s earliest pandemic hot spots.

Josie Dudzik, MSCN ’20, was assigned to a new auxiliary coronavirus hospital. While she took every precaution to stay healthy and well, her office was in an open COVID-19 unit, and she rode the crowded subway to work.

By early April, symptoms of lethargy, fatigue and headaches appeared, and she tested positive for COVID-19. Still, she refused to stop working.

Adam Coughlan Finds Niche During Rotation in Long-Term Care
At the Helen Hayes Rehabilitation Center in New York, people who lost limbs, suffered brain trauma or had catastrophic spinal cord injuries can spend months working to reclaim their mobility.

Adam Coughlan, a member of the Rutgers School of Health Profession’s Class of 2020, found his calling there when he did his physical therapy clinical rotation.

A Portrait of Resilience
A child of immigrants in an underserved public school district, it took Karen Reyes six years to achieve her dream of a Rutgers degree.

Without guidance on how to apply, or obtain financial aid, she began school in community college, periodically pausing her education to support her family.

As she was nearing graduation, COVID-19 threatened to once again upend her goal of completing her bachelor's degree in psychiatric rehabilitation and counseling.


For Kathleen Mazza, the Learning Never Stops
For her dissertation in Biomedical Informatics, Kathleen Mazza studied a pilot artificial intelligence chatbot program that monitored patients after their release from the hospital.

She couldn’t have known how important that knowledge would be more than a year later, when her hospital system called on her to help scale up the chatbot system to speed delivery of testing results to COVID-19 patients.

M.D. Takes Cardiovascular Sonography to Improve Patient Care
When emergency room physician Dr. Nalin Ranasinghe applied to the cardiovascular sonography program, the program director was puzzled: did the medical doctor understand it was geared toward undergraduates?

He did, and still wanted to enroll in the 15-month program.

In Memoriam: Farrah Hines Awarded B.S. Clinical Laboratory Science
Farrah Ayana Hines, who loved the medical arts and healing, is being awarded a B.S. in Clinical Laboratory Science posthumously.

Born on January 30, 1991, she passed away on April 13. After graduating from Irvington High School, Farrah attended Essex County College and majored in nursing. Her original dream was to become a nurse. Later, she aspired to become a lab researcher and educator.

Alex Olan Both Leads and Serves
As a Rutgers undergraduate, Alex Olan volunteered for a health care-related service project in Honduras, and the next two times, he led trips to Panama and Nicaragua.

It was no surprise that he jumped to volunteer for a trip to the Dominican Republic as a graduate student in the Doctor of Physical Therapy program, helping patients in a rural village manage pain and doing construction on a hurricane-resilient home.

He had planned to be a physician, but In a moment of serendipity, his path changed

Send Your Message During Convocation
Join the School of Health Professions as we celebrate our Class of 2020 on Friday, May 22 at 11 a.m. To watch the ceremony live, go to shp.rutgers.edu/convocation.

Send messages of congratulations to our graduates through the convocation webpage, SMS text [text (859) 407-6886], or through social media using the hashtags #SHPGrad or #RutgersSHP on Twitter or Instagram.

Tech Talk
This Weeks Topics - Add interactive elements into Canvas using Playposit
Playposit is an interactive video tool that is integrated into Canvas. It allows you to add interactive elements such as quiz questions, text prompts, and images over a video that you create or a video from an external source. If you are looking for a tool to create engaging lecture videos, embed quiz questions in your lecture videos, and monitor student activity and engagement, join the Playposit session on Thursday, May 21 at 1pm. Register in advance to receive the Zoom link.