2015 Emerging Professionals Summer Internship Program (EPSIP) Participant Bios
Omaima Afzaal – Communications & Marketing Emerging Professional Intern
Omaima comes to UMass Chan Medical School through Mt. Holyoke College in South Hadley, Massachusetts. She holds a 3.7 GPA and will be interning this summer in the Communications and Marketing Department at ForHealth Consulting. Omaima hopes to utilize the organizational, problem solving, project management and communication skills she has gained while working as an editor for Mt. Holyoke’s school newspaper and as Class Secretary for her sophomore class. She will be working on projects that include supporting the 25th Anniversary of the American Disabilities Act celebration and developing a conference guide for UMass Chan Medical School staff attending the Medicaid Enterprise Systems Conference. A Worcester resident, she speaks fluent English and Urdu. Omaima is an Emerging Professional who is looking forward to starting a career in marketing when she graduates in 2017.
Christopher Canieso – Marketing & Analytics Emerging Professional Intern
Christopher Canieso is back for a second year of the EPSIP Program. Now a graduate of Clark University with a degree in Psychology and a minor in Management, Christopher hopes to continue to apply his experience and knowledge earned while participating in the inaugural EPSIP while interning at ForHealth Consulting’s Marketing and Analytics Department. He has experience teaching best practices in social media marketing, analyzing insights to maximize the effectiveness of posts, live-tweeting and “instagramming” visual and performing arts events for Clark University. Christopher’s background includes proficiencies in Microsoft application and software, as wells as social media marketing including Facebook, Twitter,Instagram, Hootsuite, Tumbler, Social Web and Blogspot. Christopher is an Emerging Professional who is looking forward to applying his hands on experience and working closely with other Emerging Professionals.
Kathleen Knight – Office of Educational Affairs Emerging Professional Intern
Kathleen attended Holy Cross with the intention to graduate and move onto medical school, but through different course offerings and rediscovering her interests, she has decided to pursue a career in public health. Kathleen will be interning in the Office of Educational Affairs which will help her closer to her career goals. She comes to UMass Chan Medical School with solid work and volunteer experience serving on the student Advisory Committee for her college’s Center for Interdisciplinary Studies, Peer Instructor and Tutor for the Psychology Department, Psychiatric Volunteer for UMass Medical Center and Volunteer for Big Brother Big Sisters of Worcester. Kathleen will assist and perform a variety of duties in support of the BaccMD pathway program, a pipeline program for undergraduates that seeks to diversify the health care work force and serve the needs of the commonwealth; with a focus on primary care and underserved communities.
Scott Leung – Office of Research Emerging Professional Intern
Scott Leung will be bringing his technical background and skills to the Office of Research this summer. Scott recently graduated, Magna Cum Laude from Clark University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Mathematics. Most recently Scott has worked at Compass Metrics and for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development where he conducted workforce analysis and utilization placement goals. He has also interned at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on grant systems development projects. Scott will be assisting the Office of Research with database design to help them better manage their grants process. He has a wealth of volunteer experience volunteering for various political candidates and social service organizations. Scott is an Emerging Professional who is eager to discover his career path from UMass Chan Medical School professional staff.
Jeffrey Liang – Information Technology Emerging Professional Intern
Jeffrey Liang will be interning in the Information Technology Department. Jeffery has interned at State Street Bank for the past two summers with the risk management team assessing the volatility of business State Street partners with. He will be going into his senior year at Holy Cross where he is a varsity rower and Secretary for the Inter-House Council. Jeffery attended Boston Latin School where he excelled on the wrestling mat, in the community and in the classroom. This summer Jeffrey will be working on an on-going search engine optimization project ensuring that all UMass Chan Medical School websites are receiving the maximum web traffic possible and enabling those in search of specific content to find it with ease. Jeffrey’s technical background includes C++, networking. He is fluent in Cantonese, English and Taishanese. Jeffery is an Emerging Professional who hopes to extend his leadership skills and advance his technical aptitude.
Alyssa Perry – Environmental Health & Safety Emerging Professional Intern
Alyssa has always had an interest in the medical field and an internship in the Environmental Health & Safety Department will combine her interests and engineering management background. Alyssa will be going into the junior year at Worcester Polytechnic Institute where she majors in Management Engineering. Alyssa will be responsible for helping the department provide and promote employee participation in hazard prevention and control, worksite assessment and analysis; emergency response; and, safety & health education and training. Her background includes a myriad of disciplines including: staff support for the Academic Technology Center, Peer Advisor for the Connections Pre-Orientation Program. Alyssa is Chair for the National Society of Black Engineers and Public Relations Chair for the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers. Alyssa is an Emerging Professional who is looking forward to being a future leader in STEM.
Mardric Saysay – Diversity & Inclusion Emerging Professional Intern
Mardric is a Worcester resident who just graduated from our sister university, UMass Amherst. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Public Health and is looking forward to joining the Office of Diversity & Inclusion where she can utilize skills gained while serving as Vice President of UMass Amherst Multicultural Association of Psychology Students, Public Relations Officer for the African American student association, Data Entry Clerk for the Campus Accounting Branch and Undergraduate Research Assistant for the Cognitive Research Lab while on campus. Mardric comes to UMass Chan with a wealth of administrative and volunteer experience. She will oversee the Medical Schools Building Brighter Futures with Youth program, a community outreach initiative that provides 25 high school students with the opportunity to work in various departments throughout the medical school. Mardric is an Emerging Professional who’s looking forward to bringing her talents and enthusiasm to the Office of Diversity & Inclusion.