The following was written by Katherine Law, a member of the Women’s Track & Field and Cross Country team. Katherine is majoring in Biological Engineering and had the opportunity to study abroad in Valencia, Spain through UGA’s College of Engineering.
The study abroad program I participated in was located in Valencia, Spain through UGA’s College of Engineering. The program lasted from May 24 – August 3. The first two weeks consisted of studying International Engineering Project Management. The class was held at the Universidad Catolica de Valencia, but Dr. Warnock, a professor from UGA’s College of Engineering, taught the course. Over the two weeks, we had two case studies that we had to work on. We were placed into groups and given a country to focus on. My first case study was on Ethiopia and how the new president is transitioning the economy from agricultural to mechanically based. The second case study focuses on using engineering disciplines to solve one of the UN Sustainable Goals. We also used project management skills that we had talked about during class to discuss how we would set up and carry-out this project. I really enjoyed this class because I was able to see that project management is a field of engineering I would like to work within.
I am planning on getting my undergraduate degree in Biological Engineering and my Master’s of Business Administration through the Double Dawgs program. I have always said that I would like to combine engineering disciplines with leadership skills. Through this class, I discovered that Engineering Project Management was a great fit for the combination I have been looking for with a career. I loved learning about the different variables project managers for engineering companies need to think about when creating a design plan.
After two weeks of classes, my eight-week internship began. My internship was at Instituto Musculoesqueletico Europeo, also known as IMSKE. It is a traumatology and rehabilitation hospital that is a leading medical institution in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of musculoskeletal diseases. I worked under Dr. Javier Navarro who is an Orthopedic Surgeon. At IMSKE, he works with a lot of patients who have shoulder and knee injuries. I spent time with him in his consultations and surgeries. On consult days, I helped him bring patients into his office and evaluate their injuries. I uploaded the MRI and CT scans to his computer system for specific patients, and I observed his conversations in Spanish between himself and the patient(s). I really enjoyed my surgery days! I was mostly only allowed to observe, but I got to watch a wide-range of surgeries. Some of the surgeries included different types of shoulder tears, knee replacements, ACL/MCL surgeries, carpal tunnel or trigger finger surgeries, and various bone fractures.
My favorite part of surgery was watching the tools that the surgeons used. Stryker was the main medical device company. For instance, with shoulder surgeries, only a few small cuts were made, and the surgeons used a camera to see everything inside of the body. They had different tools that were also used to make the anchors which essentially look like strings that are tied around different parts of the shoulder tear in order to pull it in place. Knee replacement surgeries were super neat! There was an exact medical device tool that the surgeons would hammer into the knee, and it had the exact markers and spacers for where the drill needed to be placed to drill off the kneecap. An engineer who worked for Stryker would come into the surgery to make sure the surgeons were using the devices properly, and she would watch as they used the tools in case there were questions. I was able to talk to her a lot and ask about her career!
My internship confirmed how I do not want to go to medical school. I did not really like the surgeries, and I realized I would not want to be a surgeon. However, I am very glad that I was able to experience this now instead of going into medical school and realizing that it is not a career that I am passionate about. On the other hand, I found the engineering side of surgeries very interesting such as the medical devices used.
The biggest influence on my career aspirations would definitely be from the class the first two weeks. I absolutely loved learning about Engineering Project Management, and I know that this is exactly what I would like to do. I would love to combine engineering skills with leadership roles. I love to organize and plan, which I learned is very important in project management.
The internship in Valencia, Spain was a life changing experience. Not only did I get to embrace myself in an entirely new culture, I got to work in a field that I never would have been able to look at in the US. I also got to learn about an entirely different healthcare system. Within personal skills, I grew so much. I had to live on my own, very far away from my family. I am from a small town about thirty minutes outside of Athens, so living this far away was a huge adjustment for me, but it was something I really needed to push myself to do! I was also fortunate enough to travel every weekend. Some of the places I went to were Barcelona (Spain), Madrid (Spain), Porto (Portugal), Marrakesh (Morocco), Lake Como and Milan (Italy), Pamplona (Spain), Mallorca (Spain), Paris (France), and Budapest (Hungary). I am very thankful to have created so many memories that will last a lifetime.
I am truly grateful for this experience. Valencia was by far the best place to study abroad, and I loved getting to call the city my home for ten weeks!
