Meet your Center for Student Success (CSS) Peer Advisors 2017-2018!
Marianne Hage
William Lemnios
Mary Morcos
Marianne Hage
Graduation Year: 2018
Office Hours: Monday 9:00AM - 12:30PM, Wednesday 9:30AM - 11:00AM
Hi! My name is Marianne Hage, and I am a senior Public Health major from Dedham, MA. I am excited to be a CSS Peer Advisor because I want to help ET students gain a better insight on how awesome the SPHHS really is. The cool part about the Public Health major is that what I learn in class is not exclusively applicable to my future professional life, but also to my personal life. The course material is extremely versatile in that sense.
My focus area within the major is Environmental Health Sciences. In one of my favorite classes at UMass, we learned about specific harmful chemicals that we are all obliviously exposed to in our daily lives. These exposures then increase our risk of developing cancer years later. As a public health advocate, I am passionate about raising awareness on various environmental health concerns and preventative measures we can take.
I would advise students to make the most of their time at UMass. While academics are, of course, a priority, remember that these four years are filled with opportunities for personal growth. Lucky for you, UMass makes it easy to seek them out!
William Lemnios
Graduation Year: 2018
Office Hours: Wednesday 11:00AM - 4:00PM
Hi everyone! My name is William Lemnios and I am a senior Public Health student on the Pre-Med track from Natick, MA. Originally I came into UMass as a Biology major, but after spending some summer internships working in clinics abroad I found that Public Health better suited my interests. During these internships I had the opportunity to see firsthand how important Public Health is in clinical medicine and given my interest in working in rural communities as a future physician (hopefully), the Public Health major seemed to be the right path. The more involved I get in Public Health the more I see and enjoy how interdisciplinary the field is, making its understanding applicable to almost anything.
Originally I got involved in Peer Advising when I was hired as a Public Health Peer Advisor for Fall 2017. However this quickly changed as I worked with incoming Exploratory Track and transfer students during summer new student orientation (NSO). After a fantastic summer of advising these great new students I decided to switch to the new SPHHS Center for Student Success advising program. Outside of Peer Advising I am involved in the Commonwealth Honors College and an antibiotic research lab on campus. In the future I will be taking some time off before applying to medical school to serve as a Community Health Extension Volunteer in the Peace Corps and will be stationed in Malawi!
My advice for students is to always find some time to breathe. Even if it feels like you have an impossible set of assignments, take a moment, even if it is only a few minutes to clear your head and decompress. For me, it helps even more to find a quiet place on campus that’s your secret study area. Just remember that your best work is always done when you’re not a ball of stress and a grade is important, but so is staying healthy.
Mary Morcos
Graduation Year: 2018
Office Hours: Monday 12:30PM - 2:00PM & 4:00PM - 5:00PM, Tuesday 2:30PM - 5:00PM
Hi friends! My name is Mary Morcos and I am a senior Public Health Student from a teeny-tiny town called Uxbridge, MA. I accidentally found Public Health and have not looked back since. I am interested in Public Health because there are so many different aspects to public health that I enjoy learning about as well as it aligns with my future plans of becoming a doctor.
I am excited to be a Peer Advisor because I want to help students find their place and way in Public Health. After working with so many students during Summer Orientation (NSO), I am excited to get back to it this year!
Aside from Peer Advising, I am also a Resident Assistant in Washington Hall, an undergraduate researcher, and am involved in Greek life here at UMass. One piece of advice I can give any student is to get plugged into the major outside the classroom. UMass is so big, so by getting involved, this helps to make campus feel much smaller.
