Shifting from an office environment to remote working turned out to be a smooth transition for Zoe Adams.
For Adams, who works as a research coordinator for Gideon Health, her time at UVM prepared her well for the evolving remote workforce.
The Vermont native graduated from UVM in 2014 with a degree in Community and International Development. She completed the UVM Master of Public Health online program in May.
“One important general skill I learned from the UVM public program was how to be a remote learner,” says Adams, who recently relocated to Denver with her fiancé. “Because of COVID, my company is now entirely remote. I feel like my transition to working remotely was pretty smooth on a personal level. I didn’t really struggle. The UVM Public Health program helped me learn how to manage projects and manage my time.”
UVM’s 42-credit online public health graduate program is offered in collaboration with the UVM Larner College of Medicine. The top-ranked program leads to a MPH degree focused on excellence in environmental public health, epidemiology, quantitative public health sciences, and health policy, leadership, and advocacy.
In January, Adams was hired by Gideon Health, a tech start-up that aims to develop innovative solutions to promote mind-body health. Adams works on the clinical research team at the company, where she is involved with research protocol development, study participant recruitment, data security and management, and more.
Adams is applying much of what she learned in the UVM public health graduate program to her new job.
“Many of the skills and knowledge that I use in my work were learned from or improved by my experience in the UVM public health program. As I work in clinical research, the biostatistics and epidemiology classes were the most practical benefit to me, as I’m able to apply that knowledge to every step of the research process from study design to data analysis,” she says. “Another course that directly applies to my work is the Social and Behavioral Public Health course, which helped me better understand different approaches to behavior change and health promotion.”
A Flexible, Robust Public Health Graduate Program
When Adams first enrolled in the public health program in 2018, she was a UVM employee, working as a data project coordinator at the UVM Wellness Environment.
“As far back as I can remember, I have always had a passion for traveling, learning from others, and trying to think of creative solutions to fix challenges that I see in the world,” she says. “Though I was hesitant at first about a fully online graduate program, I quickly learned that it was an ideal structure for me, as the flexibility allowed me to take a few classes at a time and finish my coursework in my free time while I continued to work.”
Adams says she recommends the Master of Public Health program because it’s flexible and allows students to learn at their desired pace. It also helps students receive adequate hands-on and applied public health experience through the capstone and applied practicum.
“What I found is that many of my classmates in the program were in similar situations as me; individuals who are passionate about public health and are completing the program to supplement or pursue further education in a field where they already have some experience,” she says. “Many of the professors in this program are experts in their field, and I count myself lucky that I was able to learn from instructors who really practice what they teach.”
