Page 21 - Paduan Fall/Winter 18-19

From MedTrack to MedWish:
Katie Brown ’16
Padua instilled Franciscan values into my everyday life; believing that each person deserves respect and dignity, as well as respecting the environment as God’s creation are two themes I strive to incorporate into all aspects of my life. These beliefs coupled with my healthcare experience in MedTrack is why a major in Public Health at The Ohio State University was an easy decision. Through my classes and student organi- zations, I get to learn and teach other students about the importance of environmental awareness as well as our duty to ensure all people are treated equally.
While searching for a summer internship, I kept thinking
about a MedTrack retreat at MedWish, which is a Cleveland- based non-profit that repurposes discarded medical
supplies to provide aid to developing countries. Keeping their mission of humanitarian aid and environmental consciousness
in mind, I decided their internship program fit my values and future professional goals perfectly. I was chosen to be one of four Humanitarian Aid Interns for the summer. From packing suitcases full of repurposed medical supplies, to presenting “lunch and learns” to the staff about countries we were helping, I was able to put my Franciscan beliefs into action. During my time at MedWish,
I helped send supplies to countries like Honduras, Armenia, and Lesotho. I am positive I would not have been able to land this internship without my MedTrack background; the professional skills, along with being able to incorporate Franciscan values into health-related fields, have been extremely helpful in getting me to this point. I will be forever grateful for all Padua and MedTrack has taught me, and plan on using these lessons as I enter the professional workforce.
MedTrackers
Research from
Coast to Coast
Liam Bandura ’19, Snehi Shah ’19 and Xiaoxin (Katherine) Wang ’19, all conducted very different research in very different parts of the country during the summer of 2018.
Liam expanded his science experience with research at Yellow- stone National Park. He gathered data on wildlife populations
and tourist activity as part of a study with the National Park Service.
As a full-time intern under the guidance of a Cleveland Clinic mentor, Snehi assessed the
prevalence of positive post-treatment PET scans in women with adenocarcinoma versus squamous
cell carcinoma and the concordance between positive post-treatment PET scans and pathology
specimen for women undergoing excisional surgery as treatment for their cancer type.
As a Garcia Summer Research Scholar at Stony Brook University, Katherine’s research focused on how to utilize graphene nanocomposite materials in 3-D printing.
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