Alumni connection leads to internship at Stanford Hospital
For Julieth Rojas ’14, the path to an internship at Stanford Hospital and Clinics began with St. Olaf College’s online alumni directory.
It was there that Rojas, who was searching for alumni working in health care administration, found Rolf Nymo ’88.
Nymo, the clinical operations manager of the Hematology/Blood and Marrow Transplant/Lymphoma Clinic within the Stanford Cancer Center, was happy to exchange emails with Rojas about working in the health care field. But he was really impressed when Rojas picked up the phone and gave him a call. Their conversation ended with an invitation for Rojas to send along her resume, which Nymo then circulated among his colleagues.
That connection resulted in Rojas landing an internship with the director of the institute’s internal consulting firm, Performance Excellence. Rojas shadowed health care consultants that deal with various areas of Stanford Hospital and had the opportunity to engage with the hospital’s medical staff, business leaders, professors, administrators, COO, and CEO.
“A large portion of health care administrative duties do not get recognized, even though they are a key piece of what keeps medicine running its course in an efficient and effective manner,” she says.
Rojas embodies the initiative that staff in the Piper Center for Vocation and Career encourage all St. Olaf students to take in discerning their vocation.
“This connection worked out well for Julieth because she took intentional steps toward better understanding herself and her aspirations,” says Associate Director of Internships Sandy Malecha ’01. “This was done in part through conversations she initiated with faculty mentors and Piper Center staff.”
Malecha adds that researching areas of interest through the St. Olaf online alumni directory and LinkedIn are important steps to take for anyone interested in making a connection like Rojas’s.
“I am so thankful to have had the opportunity to be mentored by such a compassionate and caring alumnus,” Rojas says.
Nymo also appreciates the value of these exchanges between alumni and students. “At St. Olaf we learn the value and importance of giving back to, and improving, our community,” he says. “It felt like it was time to support our community (in both Palo Alto and at St. Olaf) and support a driven student.”
“I would be very surprised if Julieth does not find herself in a C-Suite office someday,” he adds. “Then it will be Julieth’s turn to do something like this for someone else.”