{"id":243084,"date":"2026-04-13T07:10:37","date_gmt":"2026-04-13T11:10:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/?p=243084"},"modified":"2026-04-20T15:58:37","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T19:58:37","slug":"commencement-student-speaker-spotlight-michael-raizin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/2026\/04\/commencement-student-speaker-spotlight-michael-raizin\/","title":{"rendered":"Commencement Student Speaker Spotlight: Michael Raizin"},"content":{"rendered":"

The countdown to UConn Health\u2019s 55 Commencement is on. Meet Michael Raizin. He will be walking across the stage on May 11, 2026 to accept his MPH degree and prestigiously represent the UConn Graduate School programs as its student speaker. Learn about his great experience at UConn, his love for public and global health, and his plan after graduation to take on the world with his next adventure \u2013 serving in the Peace Corps in the Philippines!<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Countdown
\nQ: Why did you choose the MPH UConn Graduate School program at UConn Health?
\nA:<\/strong> I chose the MPH UConn Graduate School Program at UConn Health due to it allowing me to participate in the Fast-Track Program as an undergraduate student at UConn Storrs, therefore saving me time and financial resources. Additionally, the program\u2019s emphasis on interprofessional collaboration and putting their students in \u201chands-on\u201d community experiences, made the program look more attractive to me, and resonated with my ideologies around health, and previous teamwork experience.<\/p>\n

Q: Tell us more about your path to grad school?
\nA:<\/strong> With pretty much all my older relatives having graduate level degrees, I somewhat saw graduate school as a requirement after receiving my bachelor’s degree. However, starting my undergraduate degree, and experimenting with whether to be pre-medical or pre-veterinary, I realized I wanted neither. After taking an elective in public health, and learning about the One Health initiative, I joined a learning community at UConn Storrs called the Public Health House. There, I learned about the MPH Fast-Track Program, and joined, taking the last big step toward graduate school in the Program in Applied Public Health Sciences in the Department of Public Health Sciences at UConn School of Medicine.<\/p>\n

Q: What activities were you involved with as a student?
\nA:<\/strong> To be honest, I did not really join or heavily participate in student organizations during my time as a student at UConn Health. However, when I was not working academically, I participated in community service, or intention action, with my fellow students to help serve the populations around us. I also, alongside my peers, attended events and conferences such as CPHA, symposiums, talks, and forums online, on UConn campus and at the state capital pertaining to public health related topics. As an undergraduate student though, I participated in both Pathobiology and Anthropology research, during which the latter happened partially during a study-abroad program in Mauritius. I also was the president of the UConn Krav Maga club at UConn Storrs, which instructed students regarding Krav Maga and self-defense.<\/p>\n

Q: What\u2019s one thing that surprised you about UConn?
\n<\/strong>A:<\/strong> One thing that surprised me at UConn was the almost unlimited number of opportunities that were available, and the vast range of communities and connections one can make if they open themselves up to it and\/or search them out. UConn itself, and people within UConn have large networks, and individuals who you come across, often never brush you aside, and are always willing to offer information and advice. UConn is a big school, but the community can feel strong and close-knit.<\/p>\n

Q: What\u2019s one thing every student should do during their time at UConn?
\nA:<\/strong> During their time at UConn, I recommend every student should take a class or two that when you read the description sounds challenging, and a class\/elective that you may never have thought to take, which may not be directly connected to your field of study, but sounds interesting to you. There are so many courses that are offered, and not enough time to explore them all. Sometimes something which does not seem like your topic of interest will end up sparking a whole new passion and connection to another field of study. Taking a challenging course will help prepare and teach your skills to overcome obstacles and persevere.<\/p>\n

Q: Who inspired you to enter public health\/health care? Or who was your favorite mentor here and why?
\nA:<\/strong> It is hard to pick one person. My parents love for science and appreciation of health led me to take courses where I met and interacted with professors such as my undergraduate degree advisor Dr. Steven Szczepanek, who showed me the connections between health fields and disciplines that led me to find public health. During my graduate degree, I had several fabulous mentors such as Drs. Angela Bermudez-Millan and Kristin Guertin, who supported my studies, interests, projects, and were always there for me as professional colleagues and resources whenever I needed guidance or just some good advice.<\/p>\n

Q: What are your plans after graduation?
\nA:<\/strong> After graduation, I plan to go serve in the Peace Corps, in the Philippines, working in youth development, while being able to immerse myself in a new language and culture. The immense learning of a new way of life but also being able to use my community skills learned from my degree will come in handy, while also following my passion for global health in serving under a humanitarian organization such as the Peace Corps.<\/p>\n

Q: What is one thing that will always make you think of UConn?
\n<\/strong>A:<\/strong> Whenever I see, read, or hear the term \u201cinterprofessional\u201d I will always think of UConn, due to having it ingrained in my mind by the UConn Graduate School programs, but also from the exceptionally high level of interprofessional collaboration between individuals from different departments, campus, disciplines, and walks of life, that powers and creates the impact that UConn Huskies have on the world.<\/p>\n

Q: What does being a part of UConn mean to you?
\nA:<\/strong> Being a part of the UConn Nation means that I have the knowledge, ability, support, and community needed to positively impact others and the world around me. I have been guided by a network of mentors and colleagues to get to where I am today. Now, I have joined that network as someone who can guide and support others.<\/p>\n

Q: What is it going to be like to walk across the Commencement stage and get your degree?
\nA:<\/strong> Walking across the Commencement stage will further prove to myself of my perseverance, hard work, and academic prowess. Even though it happens so fast, the feeling of accomplishment and pride will remain once I sit back down and long after the ceremony itself. Getting my master’s degree will support my feeling ready and qualified to take on the world and my next adventures.<\/p>\n

Q: Any final words of wisdom for incoming students?
\nA:<\/strong> I want to tell incoming students to the UConn Graduate School, that were are so many opportunities, and experiences waiting for you here and you need to maybe step out of your safe circle of knowledge and connections, to expand your reach to learn new things, gain more experience, and expand your social networks. Finding mentors and like-minded peers is not hard, if you put yourself out there and really take control of your range of experiences available to you at UConn Health.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After graduating with his UConn MPH degree on May 11, 2026 Michael is joining the Peace Corps in the Philippines.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":98,"featured_media":243758,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_crdt_document":"","wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_series":0,"wds_primary_attribution":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2298,2429,2388,2302,1868,2712,1875,179,2233],"tags":[],"magazine-issues":[],"coauthors":[1873],"class_list":["post-243084","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-animal-science","category-awards-scholarships","category-healthcare-workforce","category-pathobiology-veterinary-science","category-meds","category-student-success","category-grad-school","category-uconn-health","category-university-news"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-05 19:35:54","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/243084","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/users\/98"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=243084"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/243084\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":243840,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/243084\/revisions\/243840"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media\/243758"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=243084"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=243084"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=243084"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/magazine-issues?post=243084"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=243084"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}