The University of Kentucky (UK) College of Public Health (CPH) welcomes Glenn Means as the new Recruitment and Admissions Coordinator, part of the Student Engagement & Academic Success (SEAS) team.
Glenn will champion all recruitment and admissions efforts to help attract, retain, and graduate quality student candidates into the current suite of academic programs at CPH.
“Working for UK is an honor as it has always been a place I wanted to work,” says Glenn. “I have wanted to find a place where my passions lie and one of my first careers was research in public health. I am excited because public health is all around us and people in this field are true trailblazers in how we go about our daily lives.”
“Being able to recruit individuals and help them navigate the admission process while helping students to achieve their dreams is humbling. I am happy to be part of their journey. I want to encourage them in this process and help them to understand how they can be true health champions for our world," adds Glenn.
Glenn’s vision for his role is building great relationships with his students and learning their stories, enhancing and promoting diversity, and highlighting more of CPH's success stories.
“I want to learn about people and show them how their story can be achieved through pursuing a pathway with public health,” says Glenn. “Everyone has a unique story to share and tell – that is what makes us unique. Being able to bring a diverse group of people into one room to discuss important issues is a beautiful thing. It allows people to learn from each other and discover new viewpoints. It is an important part of my recruitment process to recruit and always be cognizant of how diversity is important to any part of that process in recruiting.”
“Lastly, recruitment is about highlighting why people should come and join our community. CPH is doing great work and I want to highlight how students can be part of this process in making our college an even greater place to learn, grow, and lead," adds Glenn.
Originally from Mount Sterling, Kentucky, Glenn’s biggest influences have been his parents, professional colleagues, and a few celebrities.
“They truly went above and beyond to support me and give me all the necessary resources to dream big and supported me to believe anything is possible,” says Glenn. “Sometimes working two and three jobs, my parents worked long hours to make sure any opportunity I wanted to pursue I was able too,”
Professionally, Glenn’s influences also include his friends Dr. Kapil Parakh and Madhura Bhat, co-founders of the Health for America fellowship program.
“They took a chance on me and selected me to be part of a health fellowship that truly changed my life,’ says Glenn. “They made sure that I had everything that I needed to be successful and still check in with me regularly to make sure I am doing well. Both have always encouraged me to pursue my dreams and showed me different ways that I can shape my future to be the best it can be.”
One of Glenn’s greatest achievements was having his research story featured in Forbes Magazine, which was also part of his experience with the Health for America team.
Glenn also appreciates celebrities that use their platform to fight for important causes.
“I’ve always looked up to Oprah Winfrey, Angela Bassett, Angelia Jolie, and others who use their platform for good. These strong women fight for injustices for so many vulnerable populations and are key supporters on many platforms that I care deeply about that make the world a better place.”
Glenn’s professional journey has provided him with a wide range of opportunities including academia, state government, non-profit and more.
Glenn’s career started with Gear UP KY where he worked in the school systems to provide opportunities to students who wanted to pursue college or postsecondary education after graduating.
“The emphasis was centered around not only graduating students but allowing them the opportunity to decide what pathway was best for them after high school,” says Glenn.
Glenn was also the Director of Development at Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Bluegrass, where he helped with grant writing, donor stewardship, fundraising, event planning, and more.
Glenn also worked for the Kentucky state government in the Legislative Research Commission as an analyst in Constituent Services, allowing him to work with Kentucky Legislature and address constituent matters all over the Commonwealth.
Most recently, Glenn was the Donor Stewardship Manager at Lexington Habitat for Humanity where he worked on critical issues with affordable housing, advocacy, donor stewardship, volunteer management, event planning and more.
Glenn also owns his own event planning company called EPOCH Affairs, producing full scale events for non-profits, corporations, and more, all over the state and country.
Glenn obtained his bachelor's and master's degree in Psychology (‘11) and Public Administration with an emphasis in nonprofit management (‘13) from Morehead State University.
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To learn more about our programs, people, and passion for public health, visit us at cph.uky.edu.
