{"id":18736,"date":"2024-08-23T14:25:11","date_gmt":"2024-08-23T19:25:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.osfhealthcare.org\/blog\/?p=18736"},"modified":"2025-12-16T11:14:51","modified_gmt":"2025-12-16T17:14:51","slug":"osf-innovation-internships-fuel-health-care-career-passions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/osf-innovation-internships-fuel-health-care-career-passions\/","title":{"rendered":"OSF Innovation internships fuel health care career passions"},"content":{"rendered":"

“OSF Innovation<\/a> has given me great hands-on experiences and the resources to bring my ideas to reality,\u201d says marketing intern Brynna Feehan.<\/p>\n

This is the cornerstone of the OSF Innovation summer internship program<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe thing that\u2019s so cool about the OSF Innovation internship is that these are real projects,\u201d says Alexa Waltz, a project manager<\/a> for OSF Innovation who was once an intern herself. \u201cThe interns jump right in to create these amazing projects in such tight timelines.\u201d<\/p>\n

How the summer internship program works<\/h2>\n

During the 10-week program, interns get their own projects to lead. They create apps, databases, websites and marketing materials. Some even team up with Mission Partners on existing projects.<\/p>\n

Aishi Tulasaku, a junior at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign<\/a>, is a community health navigator intern. As a part of the Rural Health Access and Innovation Network (RHAIN) Project, Tulasaku has analyzed data, job shadowed and served in the community. She will even leave as a certified community health worker.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey really went above and beyond. When I meet patients in the field and talk to them about their life and everything they\u2019re facing, I know that I want to go into health care,\u201d says Tulasaku.<\/p>\n

Tulasaku is not the only one who has found her passion through the internship. OSF Innovation engineers<\/a> Connor Davey and Reid Jockish are former interns who learned that engineering in health care is exactly where they want to be.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur intern projects started as an idea and we had to take them all the way through the engineering process,\u201d says Jockish.<\/p>\n

Unsure of whether engineering or medical school was the path for him, Jockish found his perfect fit at OSF Innovation. \u201cBoth of my experiences as an intern led me to really want to work here in this role.\u201d<\/p>\n

Preparing interns for the workforce<\/h2>\n

Of course, the internship\u2019s goal is not just to prepare the next generation of OSF HealthCare Mission Partners.<\/p>\n

No\u00ebl Adams, vice president of academic collaborations, says that this program provides interns with skills, connections and an understanding of professionalism that will benefit them in any workplace.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe try not to bring interns in and just focus on their particular area or skill set, we\u2019re trying to focus on giving them a full work experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

Interested in an internship?<\/p>\n

Apply today<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

More than that, Adams says, \u201cIt\u2019s always amazing how we bring interns in from \u2018There\u2019s no way I can get this work done’ to the end of the summer. It\u2019s like \u2018Hey, we did this!\u2019 It\u2019s really fun to watch that sense of accomplishment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Marketing intern Megan Clar agrees. \u201cBefore the summer started, I thought that I\u2019d be underqualified, or I wouldn’t be able to keep up.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now, she credits her internship with growing her confidence and broadening her horizons. Clar\u2019s workplace relationships have led to that growth through feedback, encouragement and professional development opportunities while at OSF Innovation.<\/p>\n

Collaboration and communication<\/h2>\n

Each intern gets a mentor, a full-time Mission Partner, to provide one-on-one guidance through the summer. In addition, interns are in direct communication with their project\u2019s team.<\/p>\n

This collaborative work environment allows for the flexibility and creativity needed to innovate, which Waltz refers to as the \u201cbread and butter\u201d of OSF Innovation.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re open to ideas and you don\u2019t have to be an expert for your opinion to matter,\u201d Waltz says. \u201cI can talk to any of my leaders<\/a> and feel like I can ask questions and get feedback.\u201d<\/p>\n

And this includes the interns.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey [Alexa Waltz and John Vozenilek, MD] always ask me \u2018What do you want to do?\u2019,\u201d Tulasaku says. She explains how this has taught her to think for herself and take charge of her work.<\/p>\n

The interns receive a framework for their project, but it is up to them to put their spin on it. According to Waltz, this is \u201cwhy we get such amazing, creative, innovative solutions and ideas.<\/p>\n

These projects are not just a product of teamwork between Mission Partners and interns, but between interns themselves.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s been a really good opportunity to collaborate with other interns, make friends and just see what the other interns are working on,\u201d Ty Tinkham, a business analytics intern, says. \u201cWith all of us having different backgrounds and majors, it\u2019s cool to see how we can all impact the health care system.\u201d<\/p>\n

And this might just be one of the most special things about the OSF Innovation summer internship. From four different countries and nine different universities, the 2024 interns create a multinational and multigenerational workplace all reaching for one common Mission<\/a>: to serve with the greatest care and love.<\/p>\n

Watch the 2024 OSF Innovation Summer Interns series.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“OSF Innovation has given me great hands-on experiences and the resources to bring my ideas to reality,\u201d says marketing intern Brynna Feehan. This is the cornerstone of the OSF Innovation summer internship program. \u201cThe thing that\u2019s so cool about the OSF Innovation internship is that these are real projects,\u201d says Alexa Waltz, a project manager […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":57,"featured_media":18790,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"no","footnotes":""},"categories":[355],"tags":[408,1114],"coauthors":[726],"class_list":["post-18736","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-innovation","tag-internship","tag-osf-innovation"],"yoast_head":"\nOSF Innovation internships fuel health care career passions<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"OSF Innovation internships offer hands-on experience, real projects and mentorship, helping students discover and fuel their health care interests.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, 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