Pre-Med, Biology Success Stories - Placements
Danielle Dukes - PTEI
Your Internship Title: Pittsburgh Tissue Engineering Initiative (PTEI) Summer Intern
How did you find your Internship?
My sophomore year, when I took Genetics, Dr. Hershberger e-mailed all of his students about this wonderful opportunity to intern for PTEI.
What is the best part of your internship?
Overall, this internship has been amazing! I would have to say the best part of being a PTEI intern was working in the Musculoskeletal Research Center and conducting my research project, working with such talented doctors, and learning to appreciate the joys of scientific research.
What are the top two things you have learned?
I learned a lot about tissue engineering, in particular ligaments and tendons such as the ACL and MCL. Also, I have gained experience in writing and presenting scientific research.
Would you recommend this internship to someone else?
I would definitely recommend this internship to anyone who has a love for science and research, loves to work hard and learn new things, and is open to experience new things.
A quote from you regarding your internship experience?
Being a PTEI intern has been an amazing opportunity and has exceeded my expectations as a research summer internship!
Andrea Bell - Animal Rescue League Wildlife Center
Internship Placement Name: Animal Rescue League Wildlife Center, Verona, PA
How did you find your internship? I found it through a posting in the Biology building.
Take care of injured animals, clean and set up cages, prepare animal diets, etc.What is the best part of your internship? Learning about the animals that are admitted and taking care of the animals that have been brought in.
A quote from you regarding your internship experience?
Courtney Smay - Nemacolin Woodlands Resort and Spa
Internship Placement Name: Nemacolin Woodlands Resort and Spa
How did you find your internship? The Internship Center
What are your primary responsibilities/day-to-day activities? We take care of all the animals on property including the carnivores and exotics. We clean, feed, and water all the animals every day. We also give horseback trail rides and "safari tours". We teach people about the animals and let them see the animals up close.
What one day at work really stands out? We recently had a baby lion cub on property and we had to dart the parents and remove the cub.
What is the best part of your internship? Working with the animals! It’s what I always wanted to do and it’s an amazing experience
What are the top two things you have learned? How much work this job actually requires and I'm learning tons about all the animals because we must research all the animals.
Would you recommend this internship to someone else? Yes.
A quote from you regarding your internship experience? Do what you want, follow your dreams, and don’t let anyone tell you that you’re silly or that your dreams will never come true.
Jennifer Smith - Walter Reed Army Medical Center
Internship Placement Name: Walter Reed Army Medical Center
How did you find your internship? I was placed at Walter Reed through The Washington Center
What are your primary responsibilities/day-to-day activities? As an "intern" at Walter Reed, I get to rotate with doctors in various departments, including Radiology, Vascular Surgery, Cardiology and Preventative Medicine and help them with daily tasks, research and observe daily procedures. I was also assigned a case series to write up. From this case series, I made a poster to present to an audience of my peers as well as hospital staff. I also got to submit this case series for possible publication in a medical journal.
What is the best part of your internship? Getting to view many amazing surgeries.
What are the top two things you have learned? I have learned how to be a better scientific writer. This internship has also taught me to take more initiative to get to experience the things I want. (And not as important, but I have learned that I absolutely do not like mass transit!)
Would you recommend this internship to someone else? Most definitely. Walter Reed has been such an amazing experience for me. It is the best place to go for a health care internship.
A quote from you regarding your internship experience? Working at Walter Reed has surpassed my expectations of a summer internship. Being able to work with Army personnel, veterans and their families has really put things into perspective for me as far as what our country is going through. This internship has provided me with so many great opportunities that I would not have had if I had not done this internship at Walter Reed.
Sharifa Yamba - Machik (NGO), Washington, D.C.
Internship Placement: Machik (NGO), Washington, D.C.
Internship Title: Development Coordinator
How did you find the internship? I received my internship through the Washington Center. An NGO that matches students to an organization in Washington, D.C. based on the student’s interests.
What are your primary Responsibilities/ Day-to-Day Activities: Some of the work that I have done was based on improving the lives of disadvantaged Tibetans. I have worked on various projects. Two major projects that I worked on for most of my time here include:
1) The creation of a reproductive and sexual health pamphlet for young girls that reside on the Tibetan Plateau. This was of much importance because these girls do not have easy access to hospitals or health clinics, so it is important that they know how to keep themselves healthy and how to prevent certain issues from occurring.
2) The creation of a lesson plan for the documentary ‘Summer Pasture.’ This documentary follows the lives of a Tibetan nomadic family and it has won various awards. The plan is to create a teacher/student lesson plan that can be used in high school classrooms within the United States, China and Tibet.
What is the Best Part of the Internship? The best part is being able to work on projects that relate to my interests, and that I know will benefit and educate others. I am considering going into the Public Health field, so creating a pamphlet on girl’s health was a great experience.
What are the Top Two Things you have learned? I have learned two important ways to make changes in the world:
1) If you want to make substantial change on a specific issue or a specific region, it is best to focus your efforts on a small community, and stick with those efforts for a very long time. If you give time to perfect your efforts, the model can then be duplicated in other areas by other people who are also interested in the same issues as you.
2) In a region where there is a lot of political unrest and strife, such as Tibet and China, the last thing you want to do is turn your back on the government. The more the government does not trust/like the work you are doing, the less of a chance you will have in succeeding in helping the people of that country.
Would you recommend this Internship to someone else? I would recommend this internship to anyone who is interested in development work abroad and is interested in changing the lives of the disadvantaged.
Kathryn McAndrew - PTEI
Internship Placement Name: PTEI
How did you find the internship? My advisor, Dr. Caffrey had told me about PTEI and then I looked them up online.
What are your primary Responsibilities/ Day-to-Day Activities: Although my internship was through PTEI, i was placed in Dr. S. Badylak's laboratory, who is known worldwide for his research and clinical studies of constructive remodeling using extracellular matrix. Every day my activities changed. When I first arrived, I was shown around the lab and got used to where everything was and began planning out my research project. Then I worked up protocols that I would use and I optimized them in small pilot studies that I conducted.
What is the Best Part of the Internship? I did all the work myself. When I got there, I was given the general idea behind my project and then I had to do the rest. I ran pilot studies to work up procedures, I decided how many variables there would be, and I analyzed all the results. I also worked up the immunofluorescence staining and imaged all of my results. After I got my results, I presented them to the entire lab and then again at a poster session through PTEI.
Would you recommend this internship to someone else? Yes.
A quote from you regarding your internship experience? My internship allowed me to work in the laboratory of a world renowned doctor and vetrinarian where I gained vital knowledge and experience and I will be applying for the internship again next year.
