As UMass Lowell’s Class of 2025 prepares to turn the tassel at Commencement exercises on Saturday, May 17, two exceptional seniors from Chelmsford reflect on the university mentors who helped guide, inspire and support them along the way. Whether through research, academic exploration or career preparation, these connections reflect the powerful role mentorship plays in helping students find a sense of community on campus and grow into confident scholars and leaders.

Food and thought: Nutritional sciences major Jillian MacLean and mentor Mary Kate Keyes

UMass Lowell student Jillian MacLean was always interested in nutrition and human health, but it wasn’t until she took a nutrition elective that she realized she could major in nutritional sciences.

“The chemistry of food is fascinating to me, and I know I’ll be a lifelong student, always trying to learn more,” MacLean said.

She dove right in, excelling in and out of the classroom. She conducted research, served as president of the university’s Nutrition Club and was a member of Omicron Delta Kappa. To top it all off, she recently won the Outstanding Dietetics Student Award in Massachusetts.

MacLean is grateful for the support of her nutrition professors, especially Clinical Instructor Mary Kate Keyes of the Biomedical and Nutritional Sciences Department.

“Mary Kate has been an incredible source of support and an inspirational professor who is always willing to answer questions, offer guidance and provide encouragement,” MacLean said. “Her knowledge and passion for the field have really inspired me and helped shape my own goals and confidence as a future nutrition professional.”

Keyes recalls MacLean’s interest in nutrition as an asset to classroom discussions.

“When Jill needed clarification, her excellent questions showed that she understands the underlying biochemistry or physiology and was thinking critically about how to apply this knowledge,” Keyes said.

After graduation, MacLean will pursue a master of public health in dietetics degree to become a registered dietitian. Her goal is to start a nutrition-based business, creating her own brand of baby food and formulas.

“I’m excited to continue learning and to make a meaningful impact in the field of nutrition and public health,” she said.

Driving success: Business major Sudeep Gubbala and mentor Belleh Fontem

UMass Lowell business major Sudeep Gubbala never had Belleh Fontem for a class, but the assistant professor of operations and information systems still had a big impact on Gubbala’s undergraduate career.

Through UMass Lowell’s Business and Entrepreneur Scholars in Training (BEST) program, which pairs Manning School of Business students with faculty mentors for one year of paid research experience, Gubbala assisted Fontem with his work on resource optimization.

“It was cool because I had done research in the past, but nothing in my field,” said Gubbala, an Honors College student, whose concentrations are in management information systems and analytics and operations management.

Together, they used the MATLAB programming language to develop analytic models that can help businesses allocate marketing resources more effectively.

“I learned about different types of coding and testing and was able to apply it to a real-world scenario with a mock company,” said Gubbala, who appreciated Fontem’s mentorship style. “He was incredibly supportive. Anytime I didn’t understand something, he would take the time to explain it clearly.”

Gubbala and Fontem presented their research at the 2024 Northeast Decision Sciences Institute Conference in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Gubbala’s first major academic conference.

That same week, Gubbala presented the work at UMass Lowell’s Student Research and Community Engagement Symposium, where he was named the Manning School’s undergraduate winner.

“Mentoring Sudeep has been an incredibly rewarding experience,” said Fontem, who served as Gubbala’s Honors project adviser. “He consistently demonstrated a strong ability to work independently, often taking initiative and showing remarkable dedication to our collaboration.”

Fontem also wrote several letters of recommendation for Gubbala, who landed a full-time project management analyst role at Dell Technologies in Franklin after graduation.