With internships becoming increasingly vital to future careers, it’s no surprise that Schmid College students are taking full advantage of internship opportunities in their fields of study. According to Forbes.com, 69% of large companies offer full-time jobs to their interns—that’s a statistic that is hard for students nearing graduation to overlook.

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Gabrielle Stetz during a shift at her Medtronic internship.

One of those students is Gabrielle Stetz, a biochemistry and molecular biology major at Schmid College who graduates this year. Stetz interns at Medtronic, a biomedical device company located in Santa Ana, CA. She works with various advanced technologies, including Energy-dispersive Xray Spectroscopy (EDX) and Scanning Electron Micoscopy (SEM). These machines allow for extreme close-up viewing of biomaterials and makes it possible to tell the elemental composition of any material, respectively.

Stetz says, “My favorite part has probably been the people that I’ve been working with. They are all very intelligent and supportive and I’ve had some great mentorship,” she says.

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Jonathan Woo during a shift at his Medtronic internship

Another Schmid College biochemistry major has also had a meaningful experience interning at Medtronic. For
Jonathan Woo, who graduates in December, his involvement with Medtronic goes deeper than academic and professional benefits.

“My father passed away from a sudden heart attack in high school, so working here has been especially meaningful to me.”

As part of the Coronary & Structural Heart branch, Woo prepares samples for microscopic viewing, performs tissue histology, designs models in 3D rendering software and much more. His primary goal is to characterize animal tissue used for bio-prosthetic heart valve implants through various biochemical and mechanical assays.

Woo says, “I have had an incredible internship experience here, learning many facets of industry and science that would not be possible at Chapman alone. I feel like I am making a difference in patients’ lives through my contributions here,” said Woo.