Taking Flight

What are you going to do to change the world? This question was posed to Deanna Fochesato during one of her undergraduate classes in her first college degree and was something she took to heart. This left her pondering how she might bring goodness to the world and create a positive impact.

“I worked several positions in senior living after graduating with my first degree," Fochesato says. "I was asked to join the health and safety committee. I was responsible for the building and inspections – making sure water isn’t leaking, and that pull cords are the right distance from the floor so residents can reach them if they fall. There was so much I never really thought about, and then I realized that this could be my interest.”

Fochesato enthusiastically searched for health and safety jobs and degrees. One thing led to another, and she discovered Oakland University’s Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) program. She didn’t yet know much about safety career possibilities, but knew that this would be a great fit for her. 

Fochesato began to pursue her second bachelor’s degree in 2020. With the Bachelor of Science in EHS being fully online, the program certainly was a step ahead when education went digital due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But that wasn’t the only benefit of a fully-online program. 

“I completed six internships, while still making progress towards my degree,” Fochesato says. “Actually working and experiencing these real-life things, it’s a very important educational tool to me – I was able to put into practice what I was learning in class. And the internships paid well, so I was able to pay for classes as I was taking them.”

Another key point of the curriculum for Fochesato was the mentoring program. The undergraduate EHS program pairs students with an industry mentor to provide real-world experience and advice. Fochesato was grateful to be paired with her mentor, Kathy Glodich, in her sophomore year. “Kathy introduced me to the Michigan Safety Conference, which I ended up getting a scholarship from,” Fochesato explains. “She showed me what it’s like to be a safety professional, taught me about networking and how there’s more to being a professional than just getting your job done, and gave me really good advice about making decisions. I continue to view her as a mentor, and we stay in touch.”

Fochesato will complete her capstone course in Summer 2024. While in the program, she served as the American Society of Safety Professionals (ASSP) Student Section President at OU. Under her leadership, Oakland’s division earned the honorable mention for outstanding student section from the ASSP; this is an exceptional accomplishment, especially considering that other student sections, unlike OU’s, are in-person and on campus. Fochesato earned her department’s undergraduate leadership award in April 2024 in recognition of her distinct community-engaged achievements.

Fochesato has now moved to Washington State to work for Boeing, where she interned last year. Already, she is working as an industrial hygienist, a position responsible for monitoring exposure to chemicals, noise and radiation. “Never in a million years did I think, before graduating, I would get a job immediately as an industrial hygienist at Boeing,” Fochesato excitedly says. “I didn’t know about industrial hygiene when I first started this program, and I’m just so incredibly grateful for finding this.”

“What the next five years will hold for me, we’ll learn. But I’m sure it’s going to be good. I’ve been set up for success, and I’ll be able to do anything I want to do.”

Visit the School of Health Sciences’ website to learn more about the undergraduate and graduate Environmental Health and Safety programs at OU.