Robert Bensley

After graduating from WMU with a degree in computer science and finance I landed a job as a Systems Engineer with IBM. Four years later it became evident I was NOT destined to spend a career in a suit. Back to grad school. Five years later I ended up once again at WMU. Twenty-seven years later I still love what I do—helping students pull together their passions and molding them for a career in public health. What I love most about our public health program is we get you connected to a lot of professional and real-life activities. We like to travel. Whether it’s participating in an advocacy summit in Washington DC or attending state and national public health conferences, we take you places. And when we are not traveling we are applying what you learn in classes into real public health experiences in the community. What makes WMU uniquely different from other universities is students join our program in a small cohort and take all public health classes together. On day one you have an instant group to connect with who, after two years being together, become lifelong friends and a network of colleagues for when you enter your career.

Fun Fact:

We have a turn-of-the-century farmhouse, located at the tip of Leelanau County, where my family spends our summers. Here’s the catcher—it doesn’t, nor ever did, have running water or electricity. As such, I have become an expert at taking a milk jug shower. I can get an entire shower, complete with shampoo and conditioner, out of a single milk jug and still have enough left over for a big gulp at the end.