Ten years ago, Heather McEachern was part of a small band of faculty and staff who helped build the College of Public Health. With a constant focus on students, McEachern has touched the lives of many current and former College of Public Health students since the school began in 2005.
“The variety of students and the students I’ve been able to help through this whole journey is amazing,” said McEachern, who currently is student services director for the college. “Working with students has always been my favorite part of UGA.”
McEachern, a UGA graduate herself, works with College of Public Health students even before they arrive on campus. She’s responsible for recruitment, admissions and graduation for all undergraduate students in the college. McEachern also works to plan events for students and keep them abreast of all college news, which includes sending a weekly email newsletter.
“Last semester I attended a few presentations in a health promotion class and as the instructor introduced me, the students replied ‘You’re the woman from the emails?’ ” McEachern said. “I’m kind of always there for them, even if they don’t come to my office.”
This summer McEachern has been working every day during orientation to help incoming students understand the program options in public health. She works with undergraduates and their parents to make sure their major is the right one for them, while answering questions along the way.
“It’s rewarding to get someone thinking about population health and environmental issues,” McEachern said. “Coming out of high school, students aren’t always thinking about public health since it’s not the typical reading, math and writing they had been studying.”
After moving around the university a bit since she started in 1997, McEachern found her home in the College of Public Health, where she’s worked with “some really, really good people.” McEachern said the growth of the college since its founding has been impressive, citing that the health promotion major, which had 85 students in 2005, quickly grew to have more than 500 in five years.
“That growth spurt was amazing to watch and be a part of,” she said, “only to be beat by witnessing the incredible opportunities that our public health graduates have after UGA. It’s remarkable.”
McEachern said there were challenges building up the college, but overall it was just fun.
“It has been very rewarding to be involved in building an academic program from its beginning stages,” she said. “And while we reached out to other colleges along the way so we didn’t want to have to reinvent the wheel, much was definitely learned. I was thankful for my experiences in previous positions in the university; I had a lot of pieces to draw on.”
McEachern still collaborates with colleagues in some of the smaller schools and colleges around campus. They’ve set up a support system to share ideas and discuss changes as they arise.
“It’s been really helpful to have that group,” she said. “It’s good for me because it’s easy to reach out and help each other however we can.”
She’s not sure what the future holds, but McEachern doesn’t plan to change much. Working with students is her passion, something that she doesn’t see fading any time soon.
“I really love the student side of UGA as opposed to the business side,” she said. “I treasure the relationships I’ve formed with them before, during and after they come through our college. That’s what brings me back every day.”