UNH College of Health and Human Services

Today is the day!

Today we celebrate you, Class of 2026. We celebrate your hard work. Your long nights and early mornings. The lessons, the friendships, and the deep breaths you take at the culmination of it all. Our hearts are so filled with gratitude to see how far you’ve come.

YOU DID IT.

We hope you’ll look back warmly on the years you spent at CHHS. You’ll always have a home here, and it is an honor to witness you take this step into the next chapter of your lives.

We rise by lifting others.

For more than two decades, Sharyn Zunz taught and mentored UNH students as a professor in the social work program.

Now, in her retirement, Zunz continues to mentor in a new way — as a resident at RiverWoods Durham retirement community.

Zunz recently welcomed nursing students into her home as part of the Function and Wellbeing of Older Adults course, where groups of students work with a RiverWoods resident to learn about their daily lives, health needs, and experiences with aging. For Zunz, it was an opportunity to support students' education while showing them what healthy, active aging looks like.

“I think sometimes students come in with certain expectations about older people, and they find out some of those preconceived notions aren’t always true,” Zunz says.

Read more about the partnership between UNH and RiverWoods on UNH Today!

https://www.unh.edu/news/2026/04/unh-riverwoods-partnership-expands-experiential-learning-opportunities

Today is the day! The (603) Challenge is on today through April 10, and your gift of any amount can help area challenges reach their donor goal and unlock additional funds.

Supporting the College of Health and Human Services means you play a direct role in helping students reach their dreams, overcome obstacles, and make the connections that will last a lifetime. Your gift matters.

Give now: https://www.givecampus.com/schools/UniversityofNewHampshire/the-603-challenge-2026/pages/college-of-health-and-human-services/?a=12274431

At CHHS, we love a good collab.

Students from the communication sciences and disorders (CSD) and nursing programs came together recently to collaborate and learn from one another during a special session covering how aspiration pneumonia is caused, common risk factors, and practical strategies nurses can use to help reduce its occurrence.
 
Approximately 100 nursing and 22 CSD students participated in the collaboration. The nursing students asked thoughtful questions, completed a teach-back assessment, and asked clarifying questions to strengthen their understanding and knowledge. 
 
“It was inspiring to see future nurses and speech-language pathologists learning side by side, strengthening teamwork skills that will make a real difference in patient care,” says Keri Miloro, Board Certified Specialist in Swallowing and Swallowing Disorders and clinical assistant professor in the CSD department, who organized the collaboration.
 
So how will these students use what they’ve learned? Both the nursing and CSD students can apply their knowledge in critical ways.
 
Nurses play a vital role in identifying swallowing difficulties, supporting patients with dysphagia, and have a direct influence on decreasing aspiration pneumonia. Speech-language pathologists are integral to teaching the healthcare team as they have specialized training in swallowing and swallowing disorders. Because swallowing problems can increase the risk of aspiration pneumonia, understanding early signs, prevention techniques, and interdisciplinary collaboration is essential for improving patient outcomes.

Meet Ruth Swenson, who recently completed her master's through UNH's family nurse practitioner program and now works as a family nurse practitioner at Ossipee Family Medicine and Alton Family Medicine.
Swenson's interest in healthcare began in ninth grade on a mission trip, where she met a young girl named Ruth who couldn't access care. That moment sparked a lifelong calling toward healthcare that took multiple twists and turns.
After earning pre-med and biology and art degrees and teaching biology and art for five years, Swenson found her way back to nursing while raising her four children in New Hampshire. After earning her associate's degree, she spent over a decade working on the medical-surgical floor at Huggins Hospital, gaining experience in a wide range of health challenges.
One day, while precepting a new nurse, Swenson found herself asking a question she often asked others: When would she go back to school and become a nurse practitioner?
A well-timed email about UNH's Advanced Nursing Education Workforce (ANEW) program — opened the next chapter. With encouragement from mentors and a supportive family, Swenson advanced her education through UNH, completing clinical rotations close to home within the Huggins network.
"The ANEW grant was tremendous in allowing me to still be a wife and a mom, despite having a full-time schedule... without having to work crazy hours or assume a ton of debt," Swenson says.
As a resident of Ossipee, Swenson is grateful she can continue serving her community. "It's a true privilege, and I know it's filling a huge need for primary care. I want patients to be informed about their health and understand how preventative health makes a significant difference."
Swenson says ANEW plays an invaluable role in building the primary care workforce: "There's a lot of really great RNs interested in being nurse practitioners, but finances are a major hurdle. This program gives you the passport to get closer to your dreams — like it was for me."

My mom, dad, grandmother, aunt, all are doctors and nurses, and I know it is in my blood to work in healthcare.”

Meet Fionna Norman, who recently graduated with a Master's of Science in Nursing and is continuing her education at UNH through the Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner program, thanks to a grant from the Advanced Nursing Education Workforce (ANEW) program.

Norman is passionate about psychiatric health because she knows it's where she can make the greatest impact. "According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, there are 91,000 people in New Hampshire who live in a community without access to enough mental health professionals," Norman says. "Through ANEW, I'll be working primarily at federally qualified health centers, providing mental health care. These centers offer integrated healthcare—both primary and mental health—which is crucial for underserved and rural populations."

ANEW's mission of providing grants, mentorship, and training to nurse practitioner students addressing the state's mental health gap aligns perfectly with Norman's passions.

Norman already has extensive clinical experience across New Hampshire hospitals and clinics. She completed her psychiatric rotations and Clinical Nurse Leader research at an inpatient psychiatric hospital, where she developed an educational program on integrative and holistic psychiatric modalities that led to decreased use of restraints and safety emergencies—a project she's now working to publish.

After graduation, Norman plans to continue serving New Hampshire's underserved communities as a Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner while staying involved in advocacy, research, and teaching. Being well-established in the state, she hopes to eventually open her own practice.

Ever wondered what it’s like to dive into real-world research as an undergrad? Follow along using the link below for a day in the life of Julia Ferris ’26, an occupational therapy major, who conducted summer research funded by a Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF). Julia's research aims to help reduce caregiver anxiety by monitoring the driving behavior of individuals with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia.

https://admissions.unh.edu/blog/2026/01/day-my-life-conducting-driving-behavior-research