Bio-Epi Department Award for Outstanding Second-Year Students
Pablo Fernandez (4+1, Epidemiology)
Pablo Fernandez (he/him) recently completed his Master of Science degree in Epidemiology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. During his time at UMass, he has thrived academically and held various positions as a teaching and research assistant. He has explored topics such as Latino men’s health, mental health, biobehavioral health, teen substance use, and suicide prevention. In his free time, he likes to walk his dogs and go to the movies. He will be continuing his interest in social justice through health-related research as a professional career. Pablo hopes to one day be a professor where he can continue his research while mentoring and teaching others with similar passions.
I want to take this opportunity to express my deepest gratitude for your generosity in making this award possible. It is an honor to be a recipient, and I am truly grateful for your support.
I come from Natick, Massachusetts, where my passion for public health first sparked. My mom moved to Natick in hopes of a better life. To put it short, we struggled. These unfortunate but transformative experiences have enriched my perspective on health and access for people of color. If I pursued higher education, I could show the world what families like mine experience daily.
The University of Massachusetts Amherst has been my home for five years. In 2018 I started my academic career where I majored in Public Health and Spanish and minored in Afro-American Studies. As if three subjects were not enough, I additionally applied to the accelerated master of science degree program in epidemiology.
Your generous scholarship will continue to be instrumental in shaping my future. As a recipient of this award, I am able to alleviate some of the financial burdens associated with pursuing higher education. The recognition and support of this scholarship mean a great deal to me and my family. Your belief in my potential has instilled in me confidence and motivation to continue striving for excellence in my studies and future career.
Once again, I express my heartfelt appreciation for your support and for choosing me as a recipient of the David Hosmer Award. I am sincerely grateful for the opportunities this scholarship provides. Your philanthropy serves as a guiding light, and I hope to one day pay it forward and support aspiring students, just as you have supported me.
Thank you for your belief in my potential and for investing in my education. I am forever grateful for your generosity.
Natalia Putnam (4+1, Epidemiology)
Natalia Putnam (she/her) recently graduated with an MS in Epidemiology from the 4+1 Accelerated Master's Program. She earned her BS in public health with a focus area in global women’s health. Natalia is a social epidemiologist interested in queer health research. Her master’s thesis was on sexual orientation differences in the association between physical activity and allostatic load. In her free time, she enjoys hanging out with her cat and reading. She plans to move to London to join her fiancée (who’s in veterinary school) and gain work experience before applying to PhD programs.
I thank the selection committee for recognizing my academic achievements, accomplishments and potential. Receiving this award has been an honor and highlight of my academic career.
I would like to extend my thanks to Professor Nicole VanKim, whose support has been instrumental in guiding me as a student and epidemiologist.As I transition from my academic pursuits to new challenges and opportunities, I am committed to utilizing the skills and knowledge I have learned from the faculty in the department. I am eager to embark on this new chapter and make a positive difference.
Thank you once again for this incredible honor. I am deeply grateful for your support and encouragement.
Scott Hebert (MS, Biostatistics)
Scott Hebert is a recent graduate with an MS in Biostatistics from UMass Amherst. He continues to work with the Ouyang Lab at the university to further refine his thesis, which evaluated potential genetic links of Alzheimer’s disease and mild cognitive impairment for submission to publications. He works at the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School as a healthcare data analyst. He likes to ride motorcycles and cook. He plans to continue his studies in the field and work in biostatistics, specifically involving neurodegenerative diseases.
Thank you so much for your generosity in funding this scholarship! I am honored to be a recipient of it. I hope to continue my studies in the field of biostatistics, and this scholarship will help me to work toward that goal. I also am hoping to purchase a home in the future, and this scholarship will also help me achieve that goal. Scholarship awards like this are so helpful for students, and they are available only by the kindness of donors. I cannot thank you enough, and I wish you the best.
Li Shandross (MS, Biostatistics)
Li Shandross is a recent graduate of the 4+1 MS in Biostatistics program at UMass Amherst after previously completing a BS in mathematics and statistics at the university. While Li has always been drawn to math and science, biostatistics holds a particular appeal since it allows one to take data and interpret it to solve real world problems. Following graduation, Li hopes to make specific and measurable improvements to better people's lives through biostatistics and public health. Outside of school and work, Li enjoys dancing, writing, and spending time with friends.
I deeply appreciate your generosity in supporting the education of students and new graduates like me and for helping me to pursue a meaningful career in a field that is both personally fulfilling and that allows me to contribute to bettering the world.
The knowledge I have acquired through the master's program has been engaging, valuable, and practical. I gained a baseline level of public health knowledge from the Introduction to Epidemiology and Greatest Challenges in Public Health classes, which I then expanded through courses in categorical data analysis, statistical methods in data science, and time series models. My experience working on final projects that involve real-world data has prepared me to effectively tackle the challenges in my future career, and I am excited to put these skills to use to solve real-world problems.
I chose to write a thesis to fulfill my culminating experience requirement, a process which felt like the perfect complement to my in-classroom learning. My faculty mentors truly helped me grow as a student and academic thinker, and I am incredibly grateful for their guidance. The research experience of completing a thesis has prepared me for my career going forward. My topic consisted of applying a new forecasting method to predict COVID-19 hospitalizations in the US to address current inadequacies. This method involved combining forecasts made at different timescales to create more accurate forecasts than would be possible using only a single timescale. The work also included combining multiple models into ensembles and comparing the performance of all the different models.
During this past year, I also worked as a programmer for the Reich Lab, one of several public health research labs on campus. This job allowed me to expand my skills in software package and infrastructure development; building, monitoring, and evaluating infectious disease models and their resulting forecasts; and managing large data repositories. Performing these types of operational tasks further supplemented my academic experiences at UMass Amherst. I have also collaborated on larger projects with outside organizations in which we further forecast infectious diseases.
My academic and work experiences during my five years at UMass Amherst have been wonderful, and I am incredibly grateful for the opportunities I have had, both as an undergraduate and graduate student. Your generosity will help me as I move forward with my career as a proud UMass Amherst alum. Scholarships like this one helped me throughout my time as a student to pursue opportunities I might not otherwise have considered due to my family's financial circumstances, and I cannot thank you enough as a donor. I hope that you know how much of a difference you are making and have made in both my life and the lives of other scholarship recipients.
Emile Somda (MPH, Epidemiology)
Emile Somda graduated from medical school in Burkina Faso in West Africa. Living in a new environment and throughout the past two years, he has built English language skills, earned the skill of adaptability and flexibility, and the ability to succeed in an unfamiliar environment.
I want to thank you for making it possible for me to receive this generous award. I am graduating this spring with a Master of Public Health in Epidemiology from the Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology. As my second year in Epidemiology winds down, I can say it was a fantastic year!
I am happy to say that I received a job offer at the end of my summer internship at the Worcester Department of Public Health! I will join them as the maternal and child health manager, coordinating community initiatives while finishing my degree.
As you can see, good things happened to me! None of this would be possible without the excellent education I am receiving at UMass. I am also a father of two young children, and this scholarship would help lower the burden of the student loan and allow me to have a good start focused on my job, my career, and being able to take care of my family.
I can’t thank you enough for giving me the David Hosmer Award. I hope that I am making you proud!