Usually there would be a gathering to celebrate honors students. This year, Chancellor Mike Alexander has a special video message for honors graduates.
“Hi, my name is Mike Alexander and I have the honor and privilege of being the Chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. I’m very glad to be able to greet you today, and it’s still important that we take a moment to celebrate what you’ve achieved, so I will talk just for a few minutes about what I feel is important about being an honor student.
One, it shows that you’ve been able to work really hard through your college career. You’ve been able to persevere through challenges. You’ve been able to understand the importance of what an education means for your future and you’ve put yourself in a position now to be able to use it hopefully to benefit all around you.
And that last point, I think, is the most important thing I could talk about. That graduating with honors from a university means that you have an increased responsibility to do good in the world. It’s vital that those that are that are the most prepared, that have worked the hardest, that have the skills needed to be able to move our community and our region and our world forward, use them to be able to make our community a better place.
So I want to thank you for choosing UW-Green Bay for your education. It means a lot to us to have so many bright and talented students that come to our University. You’ve achieved a lot to be in the very top percentage of all of our graduates this year and that should not be taken lightly. I encourage you to remember, as you go throughout your career, the responsibility that you carry as a UW-Green Bay graduate to follow in the footsteps of the thousands who come before you who are doing great things in the world.
So thank you again, congratulations on your achievement, please keep in touch with us at the University and let us know the good things that are happening to you, the challenges that you face and we hope that we can always be resource for you throughout your career. Best of luck and thank you again.”
Hope to see many of you on August 22 for Commencement!
Today (May, 16, 2020) was meant to be a grand celebration of UW-Green Bay graduates and their families at the Kress Events Center. Instead, we want all of you to know we are thinking about you, especially our graduating seniors. Congratulations to all of you who made it through this difficult time. We can’t wait to celebrate with you at the commencement ceremony on Saturday, August 22, 2020. And don’t forget to bring a pair of shoes to toss in the tree!
Video by Sue Pischke, Marketing and University Communication
Video transcript
Not goodbye, but thank you.
It goes without saying we miss seeing students, faculty and staff on campus. But this message is specifically for our graduating seniors And what you’re missing right now— Buying graduation gowns, Decorating caps, Planning parties Hanging out with friends Attending a last in-person class Thanking professors Getting ready to move on Saying goodbye to friends— Even saying “see you later” to the turkeys and geese.
But despite it all— You will rise again. And take your place In the proud tradition Of resilient problem-solvers Fearless dreamers Fun-seekers and forward-looking achievers
We hope to see you at commencement in August, and don’t forget to bring a pair of shoes to toss in the tree! And know in your hearts, even as you go forward finding success in the years to come
You will always be the class of 2020 That made history even when we couldn’t be together. You are leaving an enduring legacy rising above all the challenges. In the true spirit of the Phoenix.
Jennie Morehead says she uses the information she learns at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay every day, even when she’s building a COVID-19 test site. She is currently a student in the Master of Science in Health and Wellness Management program.
Jennie MoreheadJennie Morehead with face mask
Morehead, who lives in Paducah, Kentucky, was working as the executive director of wellness at HealthWorks Medical, LLC when COVID-19 hit. With the pandemic, she wasn’t able to provide that in-person patient care anymore. But when an anonymous donor offered to pay for 1,000 test kits and processing, her company jumped at the chance to be able to provide that service to their community.
Using a church parking lot and outbuilding breezeway, a donated trailer from Fishing League Worldwide (FLW), and $250,000 from their anonymous donor, Morehead and members of a community wide taskforce were able to build the facility in a couple of days, she said. The effort was led by Morehead’s boss, Kyle Turnbo, MD, FAOCM, MPH, MRO.
The testing facility used the breezeway to house the actual testing process. The donor paid for the breezeway to be enclosed by a local contractor, complete with two automatic garage doors, for patients to enter and exit while staying in their vehicle. The FLW fishing trailer with a stage and office allowed staff to safely collect patient data prior to testing.
“When our owner, Dr. (J. Kyle) Turnbo, got that call, he said, ‘Well, we’ll just build our own site,’” she said. “And he made a community task force of our local Baptist hospital and our local Mercy hospital and then he said, ‘Look, I’ve got the tests. We’ve got the staff. We’ll be happy to run it if you all will help us build a site. That way the patients can stay out of the hospital, they can stay out of the doctors’ offices and we test them, and any physician that wanted to order a test could do that and it’s free.’”
Prior to working in corporate wellness, Morehead worked in safety engineering, so she called her construction contacts. Her husband, a retired professional fisherman, called his contacts with the FLW. Using the parking lot and annex building of a local church, they were able to create the testing site in three days.
“So a car can drive in and we shut the door behind them and they can be tested out of the wind out of the elements that we don’t have to worry about cross-contaminating,” she said. Having the testing happen inside also helps with HIPAA regulations, she said.
Morehead said she had just started her studies at UW-Green Bay when the outbreak started, but that she uses what she learns almost daily.
“When I started looking at what the topics were and what the classes were that were offered at the University, it was something I could see practicality in each of those classes that could I could immediately apply back into our work which is what I’m doing now,” she said. “You know, every time I take a class I’m like ‘Oh! I wish I’d known that before I did that program or I wish I’d know that before we developed this.’”
In addition, she said, her professors were great to work with as she managed working and studying at the same time.
“My professors, all of them have been more than kind because I started on March the 10th. And everything went crazy on March 11th. And they’ve been really nice to work with because you can only do so much in the day, and I appreciate their willingness to work with me on when assignments are due.
“I chose UW-Green Bay because I wanted to have an academic degree in wellness as our corporate wellness division is bidding wellness program work on a national platform. We service the majority of the national river industry and now national companies that have locations all over the United States. My first career was in heavy industrial construction occupational safety and health engineering. When bidding work nationally, my CV is often requested by potential clients, and I wanted my academic background to show that I am more than qualified to lead my team in corporate wellness while drawing from my experience as a safety and health engineer. UW-Green Bay was the only school I could find that seemed to offer wellness classes that I could transpose into the non-academic world almost immediately.”
So far, the drive-thru test site has tested more than 930 residents from Kentucky, Tennessee, Missouri and Illinois, she said. All of those tested have been ordered to get tests from their doctors. Now that the free tests are almost gone, the task force will enter phase two of the testing program, closing down and cleaning up the drive-thru testing site, and opening up another one somewhere else.
Instead of the three days it took to bring the drive through site together, the process for closing down and cleaning up the drive-thru site and opening up another testing site is expected to take a little longer – between three and four weeks, Morehead said.
UW-Green Bay Spring 2020 seniors reflect on their favorite memories and challenges and share their personal gratitude. To help stop the spread of COVID-19, UW-Green Bay rescheduled the 2020 Spring Commencement ceremony to Saturday, August 22, 2020. Let’s celebrate these seniors—this week and in August!
Video Transcript:
I am so proud to be a UW-Green Bay graduate. I have grown so much here as a leader and as a person. And I have made so many friends. And my professors know me by name. I am so proud to be a leader and I’m so proud to be a Phoenix. There are so many people I work with and who have taught me in my four years and it’s been amazing. And I’m so grateful for the time, wisdom, energy, patience—literally everything that they have poured into me. And I’m a much better, much more confident person because of them.
I’m really proud of myself for being a graduate, because odds were stacked against me. I’m a first-generation college student. I’m Puerto Rican. My parental figures were incarcerated. Addiction runs rampant in my family. I wasn’t just a number when I came here. I was a person they saw potential and they helped me to reach my full potential they helped me to do so much more than I ever thought that I would be able to do. What makes me most proud to be a UW-Green Bay graduate is just knowing the amount of opportunities that students have to get involved in the community and to get involved on the campus.
I’m proud to be an alumna of the University that gives it students incredible opportunities to be successful in their college career and in the future the thing I’m going to miss most about campus life is I’m going to miss seeing my friends every single day even on weekends when we were still able to hang out. Campus has a wonderful community feeling to it and that’s going to be something really hard to say goodbye to. Most of all I’m grateful that UWGB became so much more than just a place to go to school it became my home and it gave me a second family.
I definitely think that dealing with the COVID-19 challenges did make me stronger and more resilient because it really forced me to be a self-starter and self-motivated and to reach out to my professors if I didn’t understand something… or to really be a leader and take ownership of my academics.
It was a hard time for the class of 2020, who else can say they graduated in a pandemic and made it through! Plus, I ended up with some pretty good grades so I’m pretty proud of myself!
The thing that I’m going to miss most about campus is my professors. They are definitely a very good reason on why I have succeeded in the way that I have these past couple of years. The generosity and support that they have constantly shown me… it’s just absolutely astounding so I just definitely wanted to thank them. They are a very big reason why I got to where I am today.
I couldn’t ask for a better college experience. I’m so so proud of myself for what I’ve done and I’m so thankful to GB for helping me get there. I’m really proud to be a Phoenix and I’m really happy that we’re graduating and that we made it through, so go Phoenix! Happy graduation class of 2020! We did it and I’m really happy that I got to graduate with all of you and that I got to graduate from UWGB because it’s an experience that I’ll never forget and there aren’t enough words to say how grateful I am and how amazing college was at Green Bay.
UW-Green Bay, I love you and I’m really going to miss you. Go Phoenix.
Teams reigned supreme in the Spring 2020 UW-Green Bay (virtual) Business Idea Pitch Contest, recently. A team of four Business Administration majors from the UWGB New Venture Acceleration studio accelerator class took first place in the Spring 2020 (virtual) Business Idea Contest. Their business idea, Caps Off (pictured), is a better way to recycle plastic by using a smart vending machine and a rewards system.
Each semester for the past three years, UW-Green Bay has held business idea pitch contests on its campuses. The contest is open to all UW-Green Bay students of all majors. Dental City provided the cash prizes for this spring’s contest. Every student earning one of the top four prizes was a Business Administration major.
First place—The Caps Off team of Business Administration majors, Molly Hurrish, Kody Kohke, Cory Gruendemann and Kayla Wendland, took home the first place $500 cash prize from Dental City.
Second place—Joe Doro, Sydney Gille and Brett Nimz, finished second and received $250. Their business idea, 3C, better Connects volunteers to Collaborate and Contribute with charities via an online avenue for completing specific social responsibility projects, community building projects and relationship creating projects.
Third place—Noah Redfearn, Emily Walczak, Brody Wiest and Maddie Yoss (Business Administration). Their business idea, Local2You, provides small business owners, inventors, crafters and artists a full-service way to get their products marketed and sold online from locally to globally.
Fourth place—and the winner of the People’s Choice Award from the cumulative votes of UW-Green Bay alumni entrepreneurs and UW-Green Bay employees—was the team of Jocie Georgeson, Valerie Ploeckelman, and Erin Reinke. They are the inventors of The Comeback CaneTM and earned $100 cash from Dental City. The Comeback CaneTM won’t fall to the ground when users drop it, preventing cane users from further injury as a result of having to pick up their canes.
Fifth place—and the winners of $50 from Dental City, was the team of Emily Barnes (Accounting), Lydia Delikat-Mitchell (Art) and Brianna Pritzl (Business Administration) with their business idea of SoapShop, a plastic-free high quality shampoo and conditioner retailer of high quality products in refillable aluminum bottles. The solution reduces single-use plastic.
For more information on UWGB’s entrepreneurship program (certificate for all majors, emphasis in the Business Administration major, contests open to all majors), please contact lecturer of entrepreneurship Ryan Kauth at KauthR@uwgb.edu or visit www.uwgb.edu/entrepreneurship.
In the photo from left to right: First-place prize winners, Molly Hurrish, Kody Kohke, Cory Gruendemann and Kayla Wendland.
Spring flowers, blossoms, baby geese, deer and turkeys bring beauty to the Green Bay Campus and Northeast Wisconsin. UW-Green Bay’s Cofrin Memorial Arboretum forms a natural boundary of 290 acres encircling the campus that provides valuable habitat and an ecosystem for research, field trips, wildlife viewing and recreation.
Video by Sue Pischke, University of Marketing and Communication
As a young girl, Grace Stubb was drawn to jump in and help when somebody was sick or injured. Now she is a nursing student in her senior year at UW-Green Bay and will be graduating with a B.S. in Nursing. Along with her nursing degree, she also studied abroad in Spain and obtained a Spanish minor in hopes to communicate with patients in their primary language. Stubb recently landed her dream job and is now a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) nurse at St. Vincent Children’s Hospital in Green Bay.
Video by Sue Pischke, Marketing and University Communication
UW-Green Bay Director of Career Services Linda Peacock-Landrum, advises new graduates and job seekers to use this current COVID-19 experience to their advantage when applying for jobs.
Hello, May graduates. My name is Linda Peacock-Landrum and I’m director of Career Services at UW-Green Bay.
I wanted to take a few moments to really talk with you about your life after graduation and what might be in store for you as a new professional. Trust me when I understand that this is a difficult time this pandemic has impacted the job market in ways that we’re not going to understand for many months in the foreseeable future. But what’s critical for you to understand is that UW-Green Bay and Career Services are here to support you and assist you for the months ahead your Handshake account will remain active. If you’ve not utilized Handshake please take time to login and learn how this tool can assist you. It is a way for you to complete a profile upload a resume and search for jobs online you also can access a vast number of videos recorded workshops and other resources made available by Career Services.
Another thing that I want you to think about too, is focusing on strengthening connections. You can do this easily by utilizing LinkedIn. If you’ve not created a profile, take the time to do that today. LinkedIn is a way that you can network with professionals and connect with organizations to learn about things that will help you in your job search in the months ahead. Once you’ve had a chance to do that, take some time thank those professionals and make certain that you make a timeline to follow-up with them sometime in the future.
Secondly, I want you to reflect a moment about what this pandemic has really done for you and how it has impacted your skills. How have your technology skills changed? Have they gotten better? How have they become enhanced? Think about the transition to online course delivery changes. You can speak to employers about how you’ve become flexible and adaptable. Trust me, your peers have shared stories with me and your stories and their stories are going to help employers to value the commitment, the dedication and the work ethic that you can bring to them into their workplace.
Try to focus on what’s positive in this new normal. I know that might not be easy, but that may help you in the long run.
Thirdly, I want you to think about opportunities that you wouldn’t have been open to before. I know that you may have had a dream to be able to be living somewhere and doing something but that might not be possible at this particular moment, but be open to opportunities. What does that mean? Look at organizations that are in certain industries or organizations that offer the types of opportunities that can help you get your foot in the door for the future. It might mean that you take a short term or temporary assignment. Those are perfectly okay and acceptable but really think about opportunities that might add to your experience base could also add to your skillset or in some cases may allow you to enhance something that needed to have further development.
Lastly, I want you to think about your academic courses and your projects. Likely many of you had good work experience, internships and research opportunities. But also think about your coursework and your projects. What are the things that you can bring from those experiences? Document those on your resume. The best resume for any opportunity is going to be tailored for that unique position that you’re looking for. Think about in detail, how you can adapt to a changing work environment and what critical unique value you can bring to an organization.
I want to circle back to where I started, which is that UW-Green Bay Career Services is here to support you and offer any assistance that we can. We will be available through the summer for appointments by phone and virtual platforms. We can assist you with exploring options and understanding how to apply for jobs, search strategies, reviewing your resume, talking about interviews. But what is critical is understanding that we’re here to help you. Please reach out. Trust us, we’re here to help you and we want you to succeed once you’ve graduated from UW-Green Bay. Remember this is your time to rise as a Phoenix and offer your unique talents to an organization.
Congratulations Class of May 2020! We look forward to celebrating in person with you in August.
Hi. My name is Jennifer Jones. I’m the Assistant Vice Chancellor for Enrollment Services at UW-Green Bay. Today I’m here to tell you about a new resource for students who are struggling due to COVID-19 and the disruption of campus this spring. The federal government, though the CARES Act, gave the University $1.75 million to distribute to students who have financial need. There is a web form for that, as you can imagine.
What you need to do is just go to our website, uwgb.edu, search for “Phoenix Cares” If you searched for that website you will run into a button on the left hand side that is ”financial resources.” Under financial resources you will find a web form where you can fill out who you are, what your financial need is, upload some documents, hit submit. If you do that you’re going to be considered for all the funding that we have available to meet students’ needs today.
There’s CARES Act funding and there’s also institutional funding that we can supplement if you are not eligible for the CARES Act funding. So check the eligibility criteria, but don’t hesitate. Fill out the form and we will review that as fast as we can. We will get a response within five days and we will try and find as much opportunity for you as possible to meet your need, so don’t hesitate. Do that today. It’s important that you do it soon.
There’s limited funding and I want to make sure that you get what you need to continue towards your goals and your success. You have a whole team of people here ready to support you and now we have some more tools to be able to do that.
If you have any questions you can always email emergencygrant@uwgb.edu or as always our Green Bay One-Stop-Shop is available for you. Email gboss@uwgb.edu or call 920-465-2111. GBoss is there to meet any need you have, answer questions and route you to the right people to get your questions answered. Please don’t hesitate to reach out. Everyone across this University is here to see you achieve your success and I hope that we hear from you soon.
Majriela Macedo always knew she wanted to help kids learn. She is currently completing her bachelor’s degree in Education and will be graduating in May of 2020. Majriela participated in the Phuture Phoenix Program, Zeta Omega Tau Sorority, Greek Life at UW-Green Bay, and has extensive volunteer experience in the community as a member of these organizations. Majriela hopes to teach in an elementary or middle school after graduating.
Video by Sue Pischke, Marketing and University Communication
