An avid volunteer at UMass Lowell, Richard Juknavorian 鈥�98 enjoys mentoring students to make an impact.
鈥淯Mass Lowell students are spirited, curious and driven,鈥� says Juknavorian, who earned a Master of Science in health information management. 鈥淚 love being around them and appreciate their gratitude and humility.鈥�
Juknavorian is a limited partner and advisor at Suncoast Ventures, a venture capital firm that funds health care startups. He鈥檚 also a board member for BetterMeal AI, a seed-stage company that applies artificial intelligence to the gut microbiome.
He says it鈥檚 easy to volunteer at the university.
鈥淭he administration is very receptive to alumni getting involved, and I enjoy it because I feel that I鈥檓 making an impact on students鈥� lives,鈥� says Juknavorian, who sees his younger self in a lot of the students.
鈥淢any are first-generation students with tremendous drive, pulling themselves up,鈥� says Juknavorian, who was also a first-generation college student. 鈥淚 am happy to impart whatever advice or experience I can to help them in bringing their creativity forward to make a difference for others.鈥�
Juknavorian judges competitions like the DifferenceMaker Idea Challenge and the Student Research and Community Engagement Symposium oral presentations. He serves as chair of the advisory board for the Zuckerberg College of Health Sciences, participates on campus at the Days of Giving fundraising event and meets new students on Welcome Day and prospective students at open houses.聽
鈥淓very time I interact with students, it鈥檚 such a phenomenal experience,鈥� says Juknavorian. 鈥淯Mass Lowell provides tremendous opportunities for real-world learning, and these students make the most of it. The reason why I give monthly to the university is because I have faith that the funds will get directly into the hands of students and build upon the university鈥檚 success.鈥�
When time is tight, he can still make an impact with students and alumni online. Juknavorian signed up for , an online community of UMass Lowell alumni, faculty, staff and students who help each other with their career journeys.聽
鈥淚 answer questions from students about my career path and offer suggestions for people they may want to talk to,鈥� he says. 鈥漊ML Connect is also where I find opportunities to volunteer.鈥�
After earning a master鈥檚 degree, Juknavorian launched his decades-long career in the health care industry. He has held executive positions leading product management and strategy, business development, and launches of digital health commercial solutions.聽
鈥淚 received a great education at UMass Lowell that covered everything from marketing to planning to technology,鈥� he says. 鈥淎nd, like many UML students, I completed a practicum experience that provided me an opportunity to work on real problems with people in the industry.鈥�