Meet our Fellows

Nicole grew up in Eastern Massachusetts and went to UMass Amherst for college where she earned her Bachelor’s degree in Biology. During her undergraduate years at UMass she joined LSAMP and engaged in research at Northeastern University and UMass Medical School. She also joined the UMass outing club where she spent a lot of her time hiking and indoor rock climbing. After college, she went to Puerto Rico for medical school at San Juan Bautista School of Medicine where she got to enjoy her free time under the sun exploring new beaches and hiking through El Yunque, Puerto Rico’s National Forest. While in Puerto Rico she developed an interest in natural disaster relief after helping families in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria and the series of earthquakes in January 2020. During this time she also rescued two pups, Nala and Leia who are now part of her journey through medicine. After medical school, she went to Las Vegas for residency where she continued to explore the outdoors hiking through national parks with her fur babies. After much travel, she is happy to be home again “reppin” UMass!!

Shenna spent most of her childhood in Western Massachusetts, and stayed in the area for college as well. She earned a degree in Public Health from UMass Amherst, where she was also a RA, intramural soccer player, and a big fan of coffee-shop studying. During her time at UMass, Shenna developed an interest in Global Health, and studied abroad in Madagascar and Ireland. Her parents moved to Harpswell, Maine while she was in college, and since then Shenna considers Maine home. She attended medical school nearby at the University of New England in Biddeford, Maine, where she developed  interests in refugee/immigrant health and ethical global health travel. Shenna is beyond thrilled to be a UMass-er again. Outside of medicine, Shenna loves spending time with her big extended family (25+ first cousins), playing Catan with her parents, snuggling her Bernedoodle, Pepper, and doing just about any outdoor activity.