Rachel Camejo does the Gator chomp with O.T.D. students who participated in the Continence Care Lab.

By Erin Jester

Chad Neilsen earned his Master of Public Health with a concentration in epidemiology in 2009, when the Great Recession made work so scarce it was common for his cohort to apply for 50 to 100 jobs without a single bite.

It would have been easy for him to get discouraged, or even look at alternative career options, if not for the support of his first mentor, Robert Cook, M.D., a professor in the College of Public Health and Health Professions’ Department of Epidemiology. Cook counseled Neilsen to keep at it and offered references. Eventually, Neilsen landed a job at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, and later spent a decade at UF Health. Neilsen is now the Director of Infection Prevention at Nemours Children’s Health in Orlando.

“I vowed after graduation to always be a source of support for other people, and always be willing and able to assist a younger generation, because I’ve been there,” Neilsen said.

For many PHHP alumni, mentorship is the greatest gift they can give back to the college that shaped their passions and careers. Connections with alumni are an invaluable resource to students who are hungry for guidance in a world of more opportunities than an academic program could ever cover.

“From the student’s perspective, having a mentor can make a huge difference in their academics, career choices, and for some, their trajectory in life,” said Neilsen, who has had dozens of interns and mentees over the last 15 years. “As I’ve matured in my career, it’s refreshing to connect with the next generation of public health students who are facing big questions as they close in on their careers.”

Rachel Camejo is giving back by breaking the mold.

Camejo, who received her Master of Occupational Therapy from UF in 2015, is the first occupational therapist to serve as clinical resource manager at Hollister Incorporated, a medical device company that manufactures continence supplies.

After spinal cord injury, for example, a patient may use a catheter to empty their bladder — a task an occupational therapist can work with them on to become more independent.

However, Camejo said, Doctor of Occupational Therapy students don’t learn about specific continence products in classes, so she teamed up with her longtime collaborator Becky Piazza, O.T.D., OTR/L, a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Occupational Therapy, to develop a Continence Care Learning Lab for second-year O.T.D. students.

“If you keep knowledge to yourself, there’s no way the world can change,” Camejo said. “It’s important to pass it on.”

Carolina Cuomo, an O.T.D. student who participated in the workshop, said she was inspired hearing about Camejo’s career trajectory, and gained inspiration as well as tangible skills.

“Rachel did an outstanding job of educating us on a topic that is often deeply personal and challenging for clients to discuss,” Cuomo said. “She empowered us with the knowledge and tools we need as future occupational therapists to support clients in developing the skills necessary for independent living.”

As moderator for a 2023 leadership symposium hosted by the UF M.H.A. program and the North Florida chapter of the American College of Healthcare Executives, Laura Gruber, M.B.A., M.H.S., a 1997 alumna and UF Health Physicians associate vice president, shared insights with UF students, alumni and chapter members. Photo by Nathaniel Guidry.

Sam Paedae, a UF Health physical therapist and 2018 Doctor of Physical Therapy graduate, became a preceptor two years ago.

In that role, she supervises and guides UF D.P.T. student interns through the process of creating assessments and developing treatment plans for patient volunteers at UF Health Rehab Center – Magnolia Parke.

Paedae said it’s important for students to have the chance to interact with active clinicians even before they begin the clinical rotations required for degree programs. The sooner students can start applying their theoretical knowledge to the patient experience, the better.

Over time, Paedae said she has noticed areas where students tend to have difficulty, and she’s able to build her mastery around teaching — and practicing — those concepts while helping students prepare for clinical internships.

“Sometimes students will ask me things that really make me think,” she said. “Those can be some of the best learning experiences for me.”

Paedae said even though she’s a clinician, there’s a part of her that gravitates toward teaching. Mentoring students scratches that itch.

“It’s the part of my job I enjoy the most,” she said.

While Camejo and Paedae get hands-on with students, other alumni get philosophical.

Speaking to a group of graduating Master of Health Administration students during a hooding ceremony in May, Mayo Clinic Jacksonville Chief Administrative Officer Ajani “AJ” Dunn (M.H.A. 2002) encouraged graduates to think intentionally about their fledgling careers.

“I humbly submit that the path of a transactional job or career is a less rewarding path than the career of someone who is committed to the service of others,” he said. “The return to yourself is threefold to the return you’re giving others.”

Dunn also has some words of advice for alumni who are considering giving back to the college through mentorship and other forms of involvement.

From a strategic standpoint, the stronger the college is, the greater the value of the degree; mentoring students and being generous with real-world knowledge creates a feedback loop of continued success and respect

And beyond strategy, he said, “If we think with our hearts, there is joy that’s derived from investing in the program that invested so much in us.”

Recent M.H.A. graduate Kailyn Evans said Dunn’s words at the hooding ceremony inspired her and served as a reminder to give back to the community.

“That’s why we all started in health care,” she said. “It’s always good to make sure to remember to pay it forward, and niceness doesn’t cost anything.”

The M.H.A. program has for two decades invited industry professionals, including many alumni, to speak to students during the program’s weekly lecture series.

The one-credit professional skills seminar, taken jointly by first- and second-year M.H.A. students, was designed to bridge graduate coursework with career planning and professional skills.

Drawing on their own experience as parents and health care administrators, M.H.A. alumni Emily Blagg and Bryan Colonel talked with students about the challenges of balancing marriage, family and a career.

From 11:45 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. every Friday, students can expect to hear from senior-level leaders of health systems, hospitals, nursing homes, federal agencies and even other UF colleges about the world that awaits after graduation.

“Our graduates, especially the M.H.A. graduates, can go anywhere health care is being delivered, received, paid for, or where policy is being made,” said Keith Benson, Ph.D., M.H.A. program director and a clinical professor in the Department of Health Services Research, Management and Policy, so it’s crucial to hear as many professionals’ stories as possible. “In health care management, networking is critical.”

Speakers tackle a wide variety of topics students may encounter in their careers and lives.

Benson invited Emily Blagg and Bryan Coronel, a married pair of M.H.A. alumni, to speak to students last spring about how to balance family life and a career. With three children under 5 years old, the couple are experts.

Blagg, who received her M.H.A. in 2021 and is UF Health’s assistant director of strategic projects, said it can be particularly challenging for women to navigate conversations with supervisors around family leave and schedule fluctuations inherent to raising children.

“It can feel overwhelming, or you might feel like you’re not being taken seriously,” she said.

Blagg recommended feeling out a potential employer’s attitude toward family during the interview process by asking if the company values family time, encourages work life balance or expects employees to be available on nights and weekends.

Blagg and Coronel, a 2020 M.H.A. graduate and project manager at the UF Health Cancer Institute, are both members of the M.H.A. program’s advisory council; Coronel frequently engages with M.H.A. alumni and Blagg often has interns who are current students.

Coronel said the M.H.A. program puts great emphasis on student-alumni relationships, and for good reason. Of the three jobs he’s had since graduation, two have come from connections with other alumni.

“Your net worth,” he said, “is your network.”

For alumni who are on the fence about getting involved, Blagg said, just do it.

“Reach out,” she said. “You never know the difference you can make in one student’s trajectory.”