UNB Alumni
Telling our #ProudlyUNB stories
Taking steps toward sustainability through upcycled fashion
UNB Alumni
Posted: October 25, 2023 12:00:00 AM ADT
Category: Inspiring Stories , Insights , UNB Fredericton , Science , Young Alumni
A UNB alum is inspiring others to make sustainable clothing choices and to reduce their impact. Maria Hernandez (BSENR’21), the face behind upcycled clothing line Palo Verde Designs, has combined her love for fashion and her deep commitment to making the planet a more sustainable place. Palo Verde grew out of a longtime love of sewing and started as a side-hobby during her second year at UNB, while completing university courses online due to the COVID-19 pandemic. An international...
Emily Scott: Five ways to include your children in your exercise
Emily Scott (BsKin’12, BBA'21)
Posted: February 22, 2022 12:00:00 AM AST
Category: Kinesiology , Insights , Management
Photo: Tori Claire Photography Emily Scott (BsKin’12, BBA'21) is a two-time UNB graduate, a kinesiologist, holistic nutritionist and Certified Personal Trainer through the Canadian Society of Exercise Physiology. She's also a mom of two, a runner, weight-lifter, and health advocate. In 2014, as a woman who had been athletic my entire life, I approached my postpartum fitness intentions with a wildly optimistic plan. I was a personal trainer and had a home gym equipped...
Jess Neary: Top five Feng Shui tips to design your home for productivity and well-being
Jess Neary (BBA'09)
Posted: November 22, 2021 12:00:00 AM AST
Category: Insights , Young Alumni , UNB Saint John
Photo: Greg Knudson A proud New Brunswicker, Jess Neary (BBA'09) graduated from the faculty of business at UNB Saint John in 2009 before later furthering her studies with interior design. While studying and obtaining an Interior Design Diploma, she was also studying and practicing various energy healing modalities. Reiki, yoga, meditation, and qi gong were practices which put her into alignment with Feng Shui. Now, she is the owner of Jess Neary Feng Shui, where she helps clients with...
2021 Alumni Holiday Gift Guide
UNB Alumni
Posted: November 17, 2021 2:00:00 PM AST
Category: Insights , UNB Fredericton , UNB Saint John
Share your UNB alumni pride this holiday season! In the spirit of the upcoming holidays and supporting ‘local,’ we’ve created a gift guide to help you find unique gifts for the special people in your life. Along with UNB merchandise, this list highlights exciting products and businesses by our very own #ProudlyUNB alumni. Around the world, UNB alumni are creating, innovating and contributing exciting things to their communities. Get your holiday shopping done from the...
Hazel Cochran: Experiencing mental wellness through her art and business
Hazel Cochran (BAMAC’14)
Posted: October 25, 2021 12:00:00 AM ADT
Category: UNB Saint John , Insights
Photo: Hazel Cochran (left) UNB alumna Hazel Cochran (BAMAC'14) opened The Art Warehouse in 2020, a bar, cafe and drop-in art studio located in Saint John, New Brunswick. A lover of supporting local, Cochran has given the community a space to gather for a beverage and experience art - whether that be through some solo painting, or by attending one of the business' art workshops, painting nights and themed events. Here she tells us a little bit about her inspiration behind The Art...
Five ways to make your workplace more sustainable
UNB Sustainability
Posted: October 25, 2021 12:00:00 AM ADT
Category: UNB Saint John , Insights , UNB Fredericton
COVID-19 has impacted our lives in inconceivable ways, but it has also shown us how resilient and open to change we can be. We added masks to our wardrobe. We mastered social distancing. We conquered virtual life. Now let’s keep making changes... Start making small, sustainable changes to your daily workplace routine and encourage your friends and colleagues to do the same. Your small actions can start a...
Julia Hurst: Navigating a seller's real estate market
Julia Hurst (BBA'11)
Posted: September 27, 2021 12:00:00 AM ADT
Category: Young Alumni , UNB Saint John , UNB Fredericton , Insights , Management
At the height of the pandemic, young alumna and Saint John REALTOR® Julia Hurst (BBA'11) shared her insights and advice with us on buying or selling a home during COVID-19. Now over a year later, she provides her updated tips for buying and selling during a fast-paced seller's market and what you can do to best prepare. What should sellers think about when considering listing their home in today’s high-priced seller’s market? Sellers have a few things to consider when...
Maria Boyle: Five reasons to move your body
Maria Boyle (BScKin'16)
Posted: March 19, 2021 12:00:00 AM ADT
Category: Young Alumni , UNB Fredericton , Insights , Kinesiology
Photo: Lilian Archer Photography A chiropractor at Town Health Solutions in Saint John, N.B., and at Align KV Wellness in Quispamsis, N.B., Dr. Maria Boyle (BScKin'16) has been very engaged in her community and in the profession since joining the NBCA in 2018. She currently serves on the NBCA external affairs committee, and maintains a prominent and active social media presence promoting self-management and health. In 2020, she was recognized with the NB Chiropractors Association's Recent...
Tips and trends for reinventing your career search in 2021
UNB Alumni
Posted: March 19, 2021 12:00:00 AM ADT
Category: Insights
Whether you are a recent graduate beginning your career or a mid-career professional looking to make a change due to the pandemic, consider these job search strategy tips shared by UNB alumni Adam Creaghan (BBA’12) and Sheri Mersereau (BA'90) in our February UNB Talks Online: Professional Development webinar session. Read highlights from their tips and trends, and watch the full webinar recording lead by these two alumni experts, to help you successfully secure new...
Slaying your taxes
UNB Alumni
Posted: March 19, 2021 12:00:00 AM ADT
Category: Young Alumni , Insights
Filing your taxes can be overwhelming, particularly when if you're not sure whether you have to file or what you can claim. UNB alumna Anne Jewett (BBA’76) addressed some of the top tax questions during our March UNB Talks Online: Personal Interest webinar session for students and young alumni. A former partner at Deloitte with more than 32 years’ experience working in public accounting, Anne shares tips for filling out your income tax returns, information on...
Mark Hemmings: Five tips for better smartphone photographs
Mark Hemmings (BA'96)
Posted: January 25, 2021 12:00:00 AM AST
Category: UNB Saint John , Insights
For over two decades Mark Hemmings of Mark Hemmings Photography Inc has been creating photographs for clients both nationally and around the world. Mark’s (pre-COVID-19) annual international photo workshops have been held in Japan, Italy, Mexico and the Caribbean. These workshops began in 2005, and have been geared toward beginner and intermediate hobbyist photographers using any type of camera, including smartphones. Mark’s notoriety as an expert in smartphone photography...
Lauren Holden: Holiday recipes
Lauren Holden (BSc'17)
Posted: November 24, 2020 12:00:00 AM AST
Category: UNB Fredericton , Insights
UNB young alumna Lauren Holden (BSc'17) is the face behind Lau's Healthy Life, a food and lifestyle blog featuring a healthy and delicious recipe index, as well as an e-cookbook. Originally from Prince Edward Island, Lauren later graduated from UNB's faculty of science and now lives in Toronto, where she is pursuing further studies. Passionate about living a healthy lifestyle, Lauren's blog was born from her Instagram page, where she first started sharing her favourite...
Alumni holiday gift guide
UNB Alumni
Posted: November 16, 2020 12:00:00 AM AST
Category: UNB Saint John , Insights , UNB Fredericton
Share your UNB alumni pride this holiday season! In the spirit of the upcoming holidays and supporting ‘local,’ we’ve created a gift guide to help you find unique gifts for the special people in your life. Along with UNB swag items, this list highlights exciting products and businesses by our very own #ProudlyUNB alumni. Around the world, UNB alumni are creating, innovating and contributing exciting things to their communities. Get your holiday shopping done from the comfort...
Ginny Lawson: Five tips for a cozy winter home
Ginny Lawson (BA’04)
Posted: October 26, 2020 12:00:00 AM ADT
Category: Insights
Interior designer and UNB alumna Ginny Lawson (BA’04) of Virginia Ann Interiors has a passion for design and for nature. Inspired by the rich history and architecture of her hometown of Saint John, Ginny later started her own business in Halifax, NS, designing beautiful spaces. Here she shares her top tips for decorating your home in preparation for winter, now that we’ll be spending more time inside. Home Sweet Home. This expression was...
Organizational change boils down to three ingredients
Kevin Ferguson, BBA'92, BA'93
Posted: October 26, 2020 12:00:00 AM ADT
Category: Insights , UNB Fredericton
“Hey gang, before we break, I just wanted to let you know that I’ll miss our afternoon call today. A friend I’ve known for 25 years passed away yesterday from Covid and I have to go see his family. Please keep safe everyone – this is real.” Regardless of where we live or what we do, at some point in the past 7-10 months, any one of us could have been hearing or telling this sobering story. This has had universal impact, globally. I’ve been involved...
Greg Collins: Future of travel
Greg Collins (BA'99)
Posted: October 22, 2020 11:30:00 AM ADT
Category: Insights
As President and CEO of Collins Tours & Consulting Ltd., UNB alumnus Greg Collins (BA'99) shares his insights into the future of travel amid COVID-19. As the global industry shifts, Greg provides his perspective on changes that have resulted from the pandemic, gives tips for travelling locally and shares his thoughts on places that may become travel destinations in 2021. When do you think travel will improve, given the COVID-19 pandemic? From first hand experience of travel over the...
Kim Osepchook: Top 5 tips for growing food at home
Kim Osepchook
Posted: August 5, 2020 10:00:00 AM ADT
Category: Insights
As the owner and founder of Axil Gardens, UNB alumna Kim Osepchook (BSc'03) has over 15 years of organic gardening experience. Kim's passion is growing beautiful food and she has always firmly believed in using natural and sustainable methods. Located in Quispamsis, NB, Axil Gardens provides culinary and teaching gardens as a space to help clients learn the basics of food gardening. Since 2017, Axil Gardens has been offering children's summer programs,...
Julie & John: Principles of Financial Management
Julie and John Fitzpatrick
Posted: July 20, 2020 12:00:00 AM ADT
Category: Insights
UNB Saint John graduates and siblings, Julie Fitzpatrick CPA, CA (BBA'10)and John Fitzpatrick CIM (MBA'12), are both Investment Advisors with TD Wealth. The two young alumni share their insights into the important principles of financial management. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the stock market had been on ten-year plus rally. While experienced investors have lived through several recessionary and volatile periods, until early 2020, many millennial investors had only...
Ergonomic considerations for working from home
UNB Alumni
Posted: June 30, 2020 12:00:00 AM ADT
Category: Insights
Wayne Albert is the dean of kinesiology at UNB and specializes in ergonomics and occupational biomechanics. He says that any UNB alumna or alumnus who has further questions about the ergonomics of working from home can reach out to him at walbert@unb.ca. The goal when working from home is to arrange your workspace to avoid neck, wrist and back pain that can result from make-shift workspaces such as converting a dining room table or coffee table. If you are fortunate enough to have a...
Sustainability and Economic Opportunities Post COVID-19
UNB Alumni
Posted: June 30, 2020 12:00:00 AM ADT
Category: Engineering , Insights
Eric Cook on The Sixth Wave COVID-19 is punishing the economy at a level beyond any crisis in modern times. Shutting down our economy will result in business failures, high unemployment and permanent changes in the economy. It is natural to focus on the negative impacts of the COVID-19 crisis, however, there will be opportunities for those with the foresight, agility and resources to pursue them. Waves of innovation, called Kondrattieff waves, have long been observed to drive waves of...
Engaging in family leisure during a new normal
All Things Leisure
Posted: June 30, 2020 12:00:00 AM ADT
Category: Insights
Dr. Charlene Shannon-McCallum is a professor in the faculty of kinesiology at UNB who researches family leisure, as well as the relationship between leisure/recreation and health/illness. She explains why families that regularly participate in different types of activities are more likely to become a healthy, stable family and individuals - and what considerations we should take during the pandemic. As a family-centered leisure researcher, it has been impossible to not spend time thinking...
Could Manufacturing save New Brunswick?
UNB Alumni
Posted: June 30, 2020 12:00:00 AM ADT
Category: Insights
Herb Emery, UNB's Vaughan chair in regional economics, gives us insights into N.B.’s manufacturing strengths, and what it will take for that sector to lead the province’s economic recovery. In March 2016, right after I had resigned my tenured professor position after more than 20 years at the University of Calgary to move to UNB to take up the Vaughan Chair in Regional Economics, MacLean’s magazine published its infamous and economically damaging “The Drive Through...
Back to work in the COVID-19 era: What will it look like for you?
UNB Alumni
Posted: June 30, 2020 12:00:00 AM ADT
Category: Insights , Management
Dr. Jeffrey J. McNally is an associate professor in UNB’s faculty of management who studies human relationships with work and learning organizations. As Canadians and employees around the world start packing up their home offices and heading back to work, they have one big question: "What is going back to work in the age of an unprecedented global response to the novel coronavirus going to look like?" Let's look at some answers to that question at the local, national, and global...
Julia Hurst: Buying or selling a home in today’s market
UNB Alumni
Posted: June 30, 2020 12:00:00 AM ADT
Category: Insights
Since graduating from UNB with honours in marketing, young alumna Julia Hurst (BBA’11) discovered her passion for real estate and has been working as a Realtor ® in Saint John, New Brunswick for six years. Named the 2018 Faces of Fusion Business Entrepreneur Of The Year, Julia brings creativity, innovative strategies and an eye for detail to a career she loves. Here she shares valuable tips for home buyers and sellers in the new world of physical distancing, as well as...
Volunteerism and finding the right opportunities for you
UNB Alumni
Posted: June 30, 2020 12:00:00 AM ADT
Category: Young Alumni , Insights , UNB Saint John
Three-time UNB alumna Katelyn Hunter (BA’10, BEd’12, MEd’16, fourth from the left) is the recipient of the 2020 YMCA of Greater Saint John's Leader to Watch Award. She devotes many hours to being a coach, mentor and advocate for women’s rugby, providing development opportunities for female athletes, coaches and referees with funding from the government of New Brunswick. Beyond her career as a teacher at Touchstone Academy, she is heavily involved in her school’s...
UNB mental performance coach says to choose 3 things each day
UNB Alumni
Posted: June 30, 2020 12:00:00 AM ADT
Category: Insights , Kinesiology , Arts
Ryan Hamilton (BA'00, MScExSS'03, PhD'11) spends the bulk of his time teaching psychology at UNB Fredericton, but he’s also a mental performance coach, having worked with Canada's junior men's hockey team and as an advisor to an NHL franchise. He’s a sport psychology consultant to the UNB Reds, and is also with the Canadian Sport Centre in NB, offering mental performance coaching to both elite athletes across Canada and young athletes in the Maritimes who are coping with...
Tom Liston: The impact of COVID-19 on your investments
UNB Alumni
Posted: June 30, 2020 12:00:00 AM ADT
Category: Insights , Management
Tom Liston (BBA'96) is one of the most sought-after minds in Canada's tech investment sector and has offered his insights into the current market. Large declines in your investment portfolio often bring an understandably emotional response. Many investors’ first thoughts are to ‘protect’ their portfolios by selling. Others look at these market moves as an opportunity to ‘buy the dip’. Most often, our first reaction is an emotional one, which is not necessarily...
Tracy Palmer: Five tips for eating well at home
UNB Alumni
Posted: June 30, 2020 12:00:00 AM ADT
Category: Insights
Before becoming a naturopathic doctor, Tracy Palmer (BN’06) was a registered nurse in internal medicine and oncology. Since experiencing her own health challenges and discovering naturopathic medicine, she has been practicing as a Naturopathic Doctor since 2012 and is founder of Roots to Branches Whole Health Clinic. We are all having to adjust to a new normal during COVID-19 and social isolation. People are spending a lot more time at home, whether that is working from home,...
Tips for supporting your child's learning at home
UNB Alumni
Posted: June 30, 2020 12:00:00 AM ADT
Category: Insights
It can be hard to keep kids motivated and focused on continued learning while at home due to COVID-19. We asked our UNB-educated K-12 teachers to chime in with their top tips to help parents and kids during this time. We received responses from across Canada and around the world. Here’s what they had to say. Patti Melvin–Doyle (BA’98, BEd’00, MEd’09), elementary school teacher: “For K-5 your home is not a classroom. Your children need to feel safe,...
Sarah Birch: Working from home and staying motivated
Sarah Birch
Posted: March 25, 2020 11:00:00 AM ADT
Category: Insights
Sarah Birch (BBA'01, LLB'04) is a proud UNB alumna and a member of UNB’s Associated Alumni council. A former lawyer, and current content creator and blogger, she recently moved ‘back home’ to the East Coast with her family. You can find her on Instagram at @littlesarahbirch or on her blog www.littlesarahbirch.com. This article is part of a series of guest blogs, written by our own UNB alumni. Tips for working from home The world is a different...
Work your network: The elevator pitch
Young Alumni
Posted: October 30, 2015 5:00:00 AM ADT
Category: Insights
You're in an interview or at a networking event and you're asked to “Tell me a little bit about yourself.” Cue the moment of awkward silence. Where do you even begin? Take this question as the perfect opportunity to leave a meaningful first impression with a prepared elevator pitch. An elevator pitch is a brief, persuasive speech that gives an overview of your experience, skills and goals. Here are 6 simple steps to prepare your personal pitch and leave a lasting...
5 tips for life after graduation - from those who have been there
Young Alumni
Posted: September 24, 2015 5:00:00 AM ADT
Category: Insights , Young Alumni
Last spring we asked our young alumni to provide advice to current students and recent UNB graduates. Here's five helpful tips for new grads.. from those who have been there! “Understand that the first few years following graduation will be difficult, but things will get easier. Remain determined and persistent in pursuing your career and understand that plans change frequently and often as you go forward.” “Get involved, stay involved and remember that you never know...