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When Connor Celentano ’18 stepped onto the Rollins campus as a first-year student, he wasn’t thinking about his future career in public health. The sharp sense of purpose that would eventually motivate him to take on challenges like extreme heat or a global pandemic would come later. At that moment, he was thinking about baseball. But it turns out his instinct to follow his passion for sports was just what he needed to find his calling in life.

“Rollins is all about community,” says Celentano. “From the beginning, my coaches emphasized that what you’re going to remember most is not the wins or losses—it’s the teammates.”

Now, as a project manager for the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, that sense of solidarity and serving a cause bigger than one person is what really drives Celentano. He supports wide-ranging efforts from launching disease surveillance systems to developing extreme-heat response plans. Supported by a degree in environmental studies from Rollins and a master’s of public health from the University of Colorado, he says he’s uniquely qualified to help steer these important campaigns.

“My background sets me up for success because I have the technical knowledge while also being an effective communicator and project manager.”

Looking back, Celentano’s path seems clear. But in his early days at Rollins, it was all about exploring. He started as a biochemistry major but then got interested in environmental studies, where he gained an understanding of the ecological, political, social, and ethical dimensions of environmental issues.

“With such a small department, I was able to have relationships with all the professors,” he says. “I could literally go door to door and ask for help. I felt totally supported.”

His minor in public health—along with Rollins’ focus on global citizenship and community engagement—really made things click.

“I saw how public health is related to the environment and learned more about population health,” says Celentano. “I started to see that public health is such a broad field, and it really piqued my interest. At Rollins, I learned so much about what was going on immediately around me and also around the world, which made me want to keep expanding my horizons.”

Serving as a student employee at Rollins’ Wellness Center allowed Celentano to apply what he was learning in class to the real world. In this role, he helped roll out evidence-based campaigns to promote healthy living for all students.

“Up to that point, it was the most direct opportunity I had to do public health work and dip my feet in the water, which solidified my decision to get my master’s,” he says.

Celentano landed his first public health job in the middle of the COVID pandemic. While life shifted beyond recognition for most of the world, he worked as a lab coordinator for the state of Colorado. He helped facilities get necessary, organized access to testing and eventually managed vaccine rollouts.

What helped him in those challenging months, he says, was the ability to think both creatively and practically—a skill set he built at Rollins.

“Going into COVID, it really helped to be able to think critically because this was something none of us expected to happen,” says Celentano. “I was able to lean on the experience I had at Rollins where I learned to stay composed and think creatively about hard problems while also being realistic. It was a huge benefit I had.”

Celentano was honored with the 2025 Young Alumni Achievement Award, which recognizes the outstanding accomplishments of alumni who graduated within the past 10 years. Ever the team player, he sees the award as a testament not just to himself as an individual, but to the dedication and passion he has for the larger public health field.

“This might shock some people, but if you ask almost any public health official, they’ll tell you the goal is to put themselves out of business. We want everyone to have the same opportunity to reach the same level of wellness and health in our lives. People go into public health because they’re passionate and want to help their communities. So with this award, I’m so happy that the field in general is being recognized—it feels great.”

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