Hot temperatures and fewer graduates tend to make summer commencements a little subdued.

But, not at the USF College of Public Health.

This summer’s class of 164 undergraduate, master’s and doctoral students includes the university’s oldest graduate for August commencement and the first person to earn a doctor of public health (DrPH) degree.   Since 1992, nearly 200 students have graduated from the college with PhDs, an academic degree providing indepth training in a focused area of research, like toxicology or epidemiology. The college’s newly developed professional DrPH degree offers indepth training in public health practice and leadership.

Rosalie Van Skyhawk, MPH

For Rosalie Van Skyhawk, 64, the introduction to higher education came later in life. In 2008, she earned a bachelor’s degree in human development from Eckerd College. Determined to press on with her academic endeavors, she turned to the University of South Florida for graduate studies. Earning a MPH degree with a concentration in global health practice, she will be the oldest graduate recognized at USF’s August commencement.

“Public Health is so diversified.  Anyone can find a good fit somewhere and contribute in multiple ways,” said the St. Albans, Vermont native.

Rosalie’s good fit came by way of the Department of Global Heath. As a graduate student, she was able to “learn about our planet, locate the areas of concern which call to us, and to find ways to contribute.”

Fascinated by Latin America, Rosalie spent eight weeks interning in Panama earlier this summer. Placed with the Ciudad del Saber (City of Knowledge) in Panama City, she researched intimate partner violence and identified resources for support and education, studied HPV education and prevention programs for women and men, and explored a personal interest learning different approaches to end-of-life-care in Panama.

In an ideal world, Rosalie works training the trainers and there’s universal education and health care for men and women. Until that happens, she’ll practice her passion in aging studies.

Reflecting back on her tenure at the college, she recalls, “There was a lot of studying.  But, I made sure to carve out time for friends and baseball. Music, reading, and walking were my therapy and got me through more challenges than I can count!”

“I have made real friends here and have found a path,” she said.

                                                                           Nicole Johnson, DrPH

While earning the inaugural DrPH degree at the USF College of Public Health, Nicole Johnson, executive director of the Bringing Science Home program at USF Health, continued to work full time as a highly visible role model and advocate for people living with Type 1 diabetes.  Diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at age 19, Johnson earned her undergraduate degree in English and religion and won Miss America 1999.

“I was incredibly pressed for time and concentration, but it was possible. If I could do this, anyone can,” Johnson said of when asked about the challenges of earning a doctorate degree.  Her doctoral dissertation was titled “Parent Distress in Life with a Child with Type 1 Diabetes.”

“The rich knowledge I gained from the advanced public health education at USF will further empower my work helping families and communities cope better, live better and learn more about life with chronic illness,” she added.

Johnson says she plans to continue leading Bringing Science Home, managing the  multi-million dollar research portfolio of a unique program that helps educate and empower those with chronic disease, such as diabetes. She will also serve on the Executive Committee of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International Board of Directors.  In 2014, she will collaborate with the American Association of Diabetes Educators to create a national transition program and book intended to help educators form positive relationships with young adults with Type 1 diabetes.

-Anne DeLotto Baier, USF Health Communications, contributed to this report.

Even the routine tasks for people with diabetes can be a challenge – as medical students in the SELECT program at the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine are now learning.

SELECT students agreed Thursday to take the “Bringing Science Home Diabetes Challenge.” They’ll carry a blood sugar monitor with them for the next 24 hours, check their blood sugar every few hours, respond to text messages about their diabetes and keep a journal on their experience.

SELECT student Emma Qureshey gets some help testing her blood sugar.

Students soon realized that even the basic step of sticking a finger and collecting enough blood to test their glucose level is harder than it looks. Several students needed help to set up the monitors and advice on how to squeeze out more blood.

“We all thought it would be kind of easy,” said Jennifer Chevinsky. “And now we’ve already spent 10 minutes trying to figure out how to check our blood. So I think we’ll gain a good amount of perspective by the end.”

The challenge is sponsored by Bringing Science Home, the USF Health program established to help people with chronic diseases live more optimistic lives. SELECT (Scholarly Excellence, Leadership Experiences, Collaborative Training) is a two-year old partnership with the Lehigh Valley Health Network that emphasizes developing emotional intelligence skills and leadership abilities for tomorrow’s physician leaders.

Nicole Johnson, executive director of Bringing Science Home, and high school student Emma Donahue talk with SELECT students.

SELECT program students sat down Thursday to hear from Nicole Johnson, executive director of Bringing Science Home, and several students and family members associated with the program.

“My mom said right from the get-go I have to check my blood sugar before I get in the car,” high school student Emma Donahue, who has diabetes, told the group. She knows that if her blood sugar drops, it may impair her driving ability.

Donahue always keeps her car stocked with snacks and extra testing supplies, just in case.  She also told the group about the challenges of controlling her blood sugar and participating on her high school swim team – an issue that struck close to home for some of the SELECT students.

“I was a swimmer in high school, and swimmers get light-headed,” said SELECT student Emma Qureshey. “We used to eat Jell-O packs between races – and that’s with normal blood sugar.”

That kind of understanding is exactly what Johnson is aiming for. USF graduate psychology students are also participating, and Johnson plans to sign up other student groups for the “Diabetes Challenge” as well.

Emma Donahue talks about living with diabetes.

Johnson told the SELECT students Thursday that she knows three separate instances of high school teachers mistaking an insulin pump for a cell phone and trying to confiscate it – pulling the pump right out of the student’s body.

There are scarier possibilities as well. People with diabetes – and their family members – worry especially night time lows, which can be deadly if they don’t wake up. They are especially dangerous for young adults, who may not live with someone who can check on them.

“You’ll be getting one day in our shoes,” she told the group.

Learn more about Bringing Science Home at www.bringingsciencehome.com

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