The new school year always brings a fresh start full of possibilities. But this year, it also brings some new faces and changing roles in the UNH Manchester community.
This year's crop of new hires includes Web Developer & Strategist Christopher Buchanan; College Relations Representative, Derek Burkhardt; Public Relations Programs Coordinator, Julie Demers; Operations Coordinator for the STEM Discovery Lab, Melissa Gould; and Marketing Support Assistant, Kayla Leslie.
Before Christopher Buchanan took the position as Web developer and strategist, he worked as a freelance web designer, constructing web sites for municipalities and universities all over the country. But, when he saw a job opening at UNH Manchester, he jumped right on it.
"I used to be a student at UNH Manchester," Buchanan says. "It has a unique culture and a unique atmosphere and I've always liked it. I ended up going to Durham as well, but UNH Manchester has always been a special place for me."
Buchanan says he's looking forward to the opportunity to spread the word about UNH through his new position.
Since my job is helping with the web site and I also have a marketing role, I see that as a pretty good opportunity to get the word out about how good this place is," he says.
As for fellow alum Derek Burkhardt--who was a Biological Sceinces major-- before landing the job as a public relations program coordinator, he was a work study student in the UNH Manchester financial aid office.
In his new role, Burkhardt will be assisting with the Admission and recruitment process as well as performing administrative duties. He also will have a chance to work on events such as open houses and community relations events.
"I'm really looking forward to the opportunity to work in diverse roles," he says. "I've been with the school since 2005, and I'm such a huge fan of it, it's just great to be a part of the family now and to be working with the staff and faculty I've come to know over the years."
Though Melissa Gould has been with the university for four years, she is taking on some new challenges and responsibilities at the school. Before her new position with the STEM Discovery Lab, she was working as an administrative assistant with both computing and engineering technology. In her new position, she will be responsible for all the day-to-day operations of the lab and coordination of programming.
"We’ve got all sorts of programming that will be happening in the discovery lab, and I will be making sure that all those programs are scheduled with the right people at the right times," Gould says. “I am looking forward to connecting teachers and learners to advance STEM education.”
Julie Demers comes to UNH Manchester fresh off of three years as program director for the Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce where her job included managing the 120 programs the Chamber hosts annually. These events ranged from networking events to the larger Citizen of the Year celebration and legislative events. Her new role, she says, will be very similar and will include overseeing and working with other departments to work out the logistics and planning of all of the college's events.
"I'm really looking forward to experiencing the higher education environment and getting to interact with the students and seeing how we can make UNH Manchester more of a driving force in the community," Demers says. "I think we have a unique opportunity in that the greater Manchester community seems to want UNH to be a good resource. So I'm interested to see how we can work with that."
Last but not least, before Kayla Leslie came to UNH Manchester, she was the Marketing and Administrative Assistant at Port City Nissan in Portsmouth where she managed the website and social media as well as advertising budget.
"I graduated from UNH Durham in 2011, where I studied Communication and never wanted to leave," she says. "I’ve always wanted to join the UNH Community and when I saw this position was open, I applied as fast as I could."
In her new position as the Marketing Support Assistant for the Marketing and Communications Department her job will be to help manage the budget as well as collaborate on social media posts and website updates.
"I’m most looking forward to working in higher education, interacting with the students and faculty and taking advantage of the learning opportunities available here," she says.