Lab Matters Fall 2024 | Seite 7

CAREER PATHWAYS

Michigan State University Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory interns Gianna Serpe and Delanie Prince stand in front of the posters they presented during the APHL 2024 Annual Conference in Milwaukee . Photo by Rudolph Nowak

“ I was surprised about how many people didn ’ t work in the laboratory , but still contributed to public health . I met people that were information technology and quality control . I didn ’ t know that there were other , major roles that still contribute to public health ,” Gibson said .

This was Serpe ’ s and Prince ’ s first conference as well .

“ I thought it was a really great experience just to be in a professional setting , listening to the speakers , hearing their take on different subjects and learning new things . I had a good time .” Serpe said .

Ekibolaji , an intern from the Houston Department of Health , was selected to attend the conference and hadn ’ t been to a conference before . Ekibolaji ’ s mentor , Kimmyata Smith , also attended .

“ I talked to my fellow interns and heard about what they were doing in their laboratories that I did not know , or I was not familiar with ,” said Ekibolaji . “ We were able to share experiences in the laboratory and connect with some of the fellows as well from the CDC .” She added that the interns talked about how long they have been in the laboratory , and future goals .

While some of the participating interns will return to school in the fall , there are a few exceptions . Three interns are looking to graduate to the Fellowship

Program . Welso will be working at the Wisconsin laboratory as she prepares to become a fellow . Both Ekibolaji and Gibson have been accepted into the fellowship program .

A Foundation of Success

Buchweitz sees the inclusion of interns as an opportunity to grow not just the program , but the public health laboratory profession .

“ Being able to be in attendance at the conference , see the other posters , hear

other speakers and actually interact with folks from other laboratories is an invaluable experience ,” Buchweitz said .

The APHL Internship team was also encouraged by this year ’ s initial feedback .

“ We hope that we can support interns again next year . We will share the report of the experience with our CDC partners and steering committee and we hope we can continue the program , or even expand it next year ,” Wolfe said . g