After six years away from Merrimack College, Shannon Connolly ’19 M’25, said she was thrilled to embark on her fifth SEND trip to Costa Rica this past January.
“I fell in love with the SEND program,” she shared, reflecting on her four previous trips. “Each trip offered an incredible opportunity to immerse myself in different cultures, and I grew as a person every single time.”
Now, as a master’s student in Merrimack’s health promotion and management program, Connolly served as a trip advisor, something she’d never done before. She and 10 undergraduate students, most of whom were in Merrimack’s nursing program, assisted with children’s clinics on basic hygiene and health needs. On other days, they worked alongside physical and occupational therapists at nursing homes.
“In addition to direct care, we worked to remove environmental barriers in the nursing homes, ensuring their living spaces were accessible,” Connolly explained.
Two days were spent assisting local health officials with public clinics in the underserved communities in La Carpio, San José Province and La Garita, Alajuela Province. The clinics offered vital checks, background medical history information, pharmacy assistance and health literacy pamphlets.
“One of the major barriers to healthcare in these communities is access,” Connolly noted. “I distributed census surveys to patients, healthcare providers, and community members, and I’ll be using this data for my capstone project.”
Growing up, Connolly said she had multiple friends and family members battling cancer. Being around medicine at such a young age helped foster a strong desire to make a difference in the field of public health and the well-being of others.
Connolly said majoring in molecular cellular biology, chemistry, and neuroscience felt like a safe bet as she didn’t know exactly what avenue of healthcare she wanted to pursue at the time. In order to better find her path in life, she sought out different extracurriculars with student orientation, the wellness peer educator office, Relay For Life, campus ministry and intramural sports.
The SEND trips had the greatest impact on her. She took two trips each to Jamaica and West Virginia. With each trip, her interest in public health grew.
“There are many diverse communities both here in America and in other countries that face significant challenges,” she explained. “These experiences were eye-opening, and I felt called to return and help.”
After graduation, she took up jobs at Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital as a medical assistant and Noom as a holistic health coach. Still, she felt something was missing.
Connolly chose to enroll in Merrimack’s graduate program because she loved her undergraduate experience, and having her education funded through the fellowship program was a big perk. In a full-circle moment, she is now working as supervisor of the wellness peer educator program.
Connolly now feels like she’s on the right track. After graduation, she hopes to work in roles related to community health programs, wellness initiatives, public health education, and health and wellness coaching.
“I love speaking with people and sharing what I know, but I didn’t want to be a traditional classroom teacher,” she explained. “Public health allows me to combine both passions. It took me a couple of years to find the right path for my master’s, but I’m definitely happy with where I ended up.”
