Mike Pease Receives Distinguished Honor at Harvard Medical School Conference

Mike Pease, student health promotion specialist in the Office of Student Affairs and Campus Life (SACL), was recently awarded the “Green Vest Award” at this year’s Harvard Medical School Herbert Benson, M.D. course in Mind Body Medicine.

Modeled after the Professional Golfers Association Augusta National Green Jacket, the green vest signifies membership in an exclusive club of instructors and attaining a level of professional expertise that stands out among his certified peers.

Pease is a certified Benson-Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine instructor that teaches and administers the Positivity and Relaxation Training (PART) program on the UMass Amherst campus.

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When instructors complete the six-part, yearlong instructor certification course at the Benson-Henry Institute, they receive a black vest that is emblazoned with their successful certification status. The green vest, signifying Pease’s unique distinction among instructors, is the first of its kind award from the Benson-Henry Institute.

Dr. John Denninger, of the Benson-Henry Institute provided the salutation for the award. Denninger said, “Mike is distinguished by being our most prolific PART instructor and we thought we needed to honor him. We are honoring him with his very own special green PART vest. We appreciate you and all of the work that you have done.”

Rana Chudnovsky, director of the PART training program remarked, “Mike is one of the most dynamic PART Instructors. The work that he’s done at the university level stands out.”

Mike struggled to put the recognition into words, “It’s very emotional, surreal. This is for my students, it really is, in the end, this honor is for my students.”