Alumni
RYAN JOHNSON
I was at UW-Green Bay between 1996 and 2000 and received majors in Human Biology and Spanish.
Upon graduation from UW-Green Bay in 2000, I went to the University of Wisconsin Medical School and graduated in 2004 with a Medical Doctor degree. In 2004, I started the Anesthesiology Residency Program at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, which I will finish in 2008. I have always been interested in pursing a career in medicine, even as far back as starting my education at UW-Green Bay, and feel fortunate that things have worked out as planned. I would consider my first full time job to be my residency training (since you are paid a salary and function as a physician, even though you are still receiving training) in anesthesiology. Specific duties within this job include providing anesthesia care for any surgical procedure (cardiac, neurological, pediatric, orthopedic, general, obstetrics/gynecologic, thoracic, ENT, etc). Upon entering college I had not planned on studying a great deal of Spanish. My goals were to go to medical school and I had planned to focus on the sciences during my undergraduate training. Spanish was something I had studied in high school as I was told that foreign language studies may be looked at favorably for college admission. I found that I enjoyed my Spanish classes in high school, and continued to enjoy learning the language in college. I kept taking Spanish classes more out of interest than long term career goals. Nevertheless, Spanish has proven to be the most useful area of study I could have chosen. It helped me to be accepted into medical school among a variety of candidates who for the most part all have a strong science background. A second non-science major such as Spanish makes an applicant appear more well-rounded. Also, the need for Spanish interpreters or healthcare workers who speak Spanish continues to grow as immigration continues. Spanish has been useful to me on many occasions in order to communicate with patients, and was used daily on rotations in bigger cities. Spanish has also allowed me to do academic and medical rotations in places such as Mexico and Ecuador. On a personal level, Spanish has enriched my life greatly through numerous trips abroad which I have greatly enjoyed, through many Spanish speaking friends whom I have met over the years, and by helping me to meet my wife Margarita (who was an exchange student from Mexico at UWGB). Spanish fluency opens a new world of experiences and communication in Central/South America and Europe, and foreign travel has helped me to improve my adaptability and overall perspective on life. I believe that regardless of one’s chosen career path, Spanish fluency will continue to be a skill that is sought after by employers or higher academics admission committees in their application.
ELIZABETH MORAN
I got my Bachelor of Arts degree with a Double Major in Urban Planning and Spanish. I graduated in December 2004, degree officially received in Spring 2005.
I began & continue to work as a clinical research assistant at the Medical College/Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin, for the Department of Pediatrics. Our Center name is the Center for the Advancement of Underserved Children. Our Center focuses on academic community research helping promote and improve the well being and health of underserved children. The staff and faculty here have inspired me to continue onto higher education. I am currently studying for the Graduate Entrance Exam (GRE) looking into the field of Public Health or a related specialty.
My main roles are to coordinate focus group discussions and enroll participants into a number of research projects, nearly all qualitative research and intervention. We cover community health issues in asthma, obesity, bottle-feeding, infant mortality, language barriers, mentorship and more. I coordinate and moderate focus group discussions in English and Spanish, often provide health & community resources to our participants, keep constant communication and relationship with community professionals, attend weekly meetings and work closely with community pediatricians in their research. .
Spanish has helped me communicate with research participants and with professionals. I’ve added health interpreter training to my background, besides the Spanish program that is offered at UWGB, which has helped me in the health industry. Trained Spanish-speaking professionals are needed in many urban communities, accuracy is significant.