Pulse@ChathamU

There is no shortage of graduate student success stories at Chatham, thanks to our hands-on curriculum, supportive faculty, and driven students. Take a look at these hand-picked profiles on Pulse@ChathamU to see the ways a graduate degree from Chatham empowers you to become a leader in your field.

MSUS Grad Revitalizes Pittsburgh Parks with Public Policy

James Snow, MSUS ’14 serves as the Development Director for Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy where he oversees a range of giving and public policy initiatives. "To have the latitude to explore how different topics in sustainability fit within the broader setting is very special, and I think unique to Chatham,” says Snow.

MBA Alumna Making a Splash in Local Politics

While completing an integrated-degree (IDP) program that allowed her to finish both Bachelor’s & Master’s on an accelerated track, Vice President of the Wilkinsburg Borough Council, Vanessa McCarthy-Johnson ’18, MBA ‘19 found herself revising borough policies in class: “I suggested it to my professor, and our entire class reviewed it, worked with the council, made a presentation, and it’s so much better now.”

PsyD Student Volunteers to Assist Refugees Amid Border Crisis

Doctor of Counseling Psychology (PsyD) student, Alex Olson ‘22 spent a week in El Paso, Texas volunteering to assist refugees seeking asylum. The experience has had a lasting impact on Olson who aims to continue working with refugee and immigrant populations throughout her career: “I’d like to start changing the narrative,” she says.

Photo of Chatham's sensory garden, with a fountain in the foreground and a person on a bench in the background

Campus Sensory Garden Offers New Path to Mindfulness

Proposed by Occupational Therapy students, the sensory garden at Eden Hall Campus is one of the many ways Chatham combines sustainability and health science. This therapeutic garden is designed to engage the senses, provide a respite from the often frenetic pace of college life, and serve as both healing and research tool.

DPT Grad is a Physical Therapist to Broadway Stars

Lucie McGrane, DPT ’17 was uniquely positioned to become a physical therapist for Broadway dancers: she is a life-long performer herself. After spending nearly a decade working in massage therapy, Lucie found her way to Chatham’s prestigious Physical Therapy program, where she felt her real-world experience was highly valued.

Colorful cartoon of Nurse Nola riding her bike down a residential street wearing a white nursing uniform.

Scharmaine Baker-Lawson, DNP ’08 Influences Healthcare Evolution

Scharmaine Baker-Lawson, a longterm nurse, opted to get her DNP online with Chatham after seeing the way Hurricane Katrina ravaged her patients lives: "I knew I needed to have more knowledge about systems and how to effect widespread change. Chatham was the best fit for me because I could take classes and still be able to meet the needs of my community post-Katrina.”

Brittany Hailer, MFA-CW ’15 Isn’t Afraid of Changing Genre

Brittany Hailer’s work spans journalism, poetry, creative non-fiction, and beyond. She credits Chatham’s closeknit MFA in Creative Writing family as the catalyst for much of her career evolution and success: “All of my professors from Chatham showed up at my first book launch!”