Carissa Buurstra
Dreaming big
Carissa Buurstra has always had big dreams for herself, so she decided to earn her master’s degree in health and wellness management to give her a competitive edge in the up-and-coming health and wellness industry.
As a result, Carissa now has her dream job in corporate wellness as the Senior Wellness Program Administrator for Akamai Technologies, Inc. She has her hands in a little bit of everything in her position, from planning wellness events to creating and implementing wellness changes in the office.
鈥淢errimack is such a supportive community. I spent so much time bonding with my classmates in the grad lounge and in my professors鈥� offices getting school (and life) advice. The community is definitely the best part about Merrimack; you can鈥檛 beat it,鈥� Carissa says.
Carissa selected to attend Merrimack for her master鈥檚 because it was the only institution on the east coast that offered this unique health and wellness program聽which combines exercise science and business management.
Carissa says she found that the supportive faculty at Merrimack was key to her success story.
鈥淵ou鈥檒l find that the faculty really care about you. They want you to succeed in every way possible.鈥�
Busy but worth it
Although her daily schedule was hectic, Carissa pushed through it with her impressive time management skills.聽 She made it her mission to complete as many workshops, certifications and new skills training as possible 鈥� and it paid off in a big way.
鈥淚t was difficult, I鈥檓 not going to lie. As long as you鈥檙e organized, I鈥檓 confident that you can get your work done.鈥�
For future health sciences graduate students at Merrimack, Carissa has some very important advice.
鈥淕et your work done and connect with as many people as possible. Get out of your comfort zone because you never know where a conversation may lead – mine led to an amazing job!鈥�
