For one public health alumnus, each day is a different opportunity to share healthy choices.
Gunzelman, Bachelor’s in Health Administration ’20 and Master of Public Health ’22, uses his degrees every day as a Health Educator in Recreation and Wellness at 鶹AV.
As the Health Educator in Recreation and Wellness at 鶹AV, Gunzelman uses his public health knowledge to inform and work with students on health issues, including sleep hygiene, sexual health, and a “Dry January” campaign on alcohol use, to name a few.
“Every day is different,” Gunzleman said, and uses his public health knowledge gained in his degree by working with students in-person and gathering information about their needs through surveys and answering questions.
Health educator wasn’t necessarily where he envisioned ending up, but through his classes and practicum experience at Healthy Chesapeake, Gunzelman said he appreciated the ability to be well-rounded in public health, including the social and outreach aspects of working in wellness.
“I found it was fun to make the deliverables, do the implementation, and the outreach in the student environment to be really fun,” he said.
Along with thinking about student needs, Gunzelman recently developed a program called “ that was widely recognized as a way to help faculty plan for absences by having Recreation and Wellness Health Promotions teach a class and facilitate conversations around wellness issues.
Professors were one of the reasons Gunzelman decided to pursue his MPH at 鶹AV, he said.
“I loved the MPH, and even the online pieces during COVID, because the big piece was the connection and their passion and experience,” Gunzelman said.
Making those connections, especially in the areas of social marketing, “opened my eyes” into all of the areas of environmental and global health included in public health.
“I don’t think I’d be where I am without those connections,” Gunzelman said.