Senior enjoying memorable Lakeland experience
Savannah Szalanskiās 51ĀŅĀ× experience has been a journey to find spaces where she can grow and excel.
Good news ā sheās found plenty.
From the science labs where the senior biology major conducts research to the numerous clubs and organizations where she serves and leads, Lakeland has helped Szalanski acquire and hone the skills sheāll need for post-graduation success.
This summer, Szalanski served an internship at the prestigious Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., through their Summer Lab Science Program. She was one of 40 interns selected from a pool of more than 400 applicants.
Itās the latest resume item on whatās become a crowded, impressive list.
Szalanski takes full advantage of her Lakeland experience, serving as a senior resident assistant, president of the Student Government Association, vice president of the Phi Delta Omega Sorority, President Council chairwoman, and a member of the Biology Club, Pawsitism, National Society of Leadership & Success, Global Student Association, Rotaract and Garden Club.
A native of Watertown, Wis., Szalanski was a two-sport athlete at Watertown High School and was recruited to Lakeland by the womenās golf team. She golfed for the Muskies for two seasons before shifting her focus.
āI want to be involved in things where I felt welcomed and I belonged,ā Szalanski said. āSo many places here make me feel like I belong. I came to Lakeland where I knew no one, but everyone was so kind and made me feel like I belonged.ā
She was especially inspired by her first resident assistant, 2023 Lakeland graduate Bora Ajdini, a well-known campus leader. āShe made this campus go around,ā Szalanski said. āHaving people like that for every person to look up to is important.ā
Ironically, Szalanski, who has an emphasis in health sciences and minors in chemistry and Spanish, didnāt have much confidence in applying for the Mayo Clinic internship, despite encouragement from former Lakeland science faculty member Jered McGivern.
āUntil I got the offer, I kept telling myself, āThere is no way I am getting it,āā said Szalanski, who co-presented research last October at the Society for Neuroscience meeting in Chicago. The work was conducted through the Lakeland Undergraduate Research Experience (LURE).
āI got it, moved there and my first day I was having this complete bout of imposter syndrome. I followed the other interns on social media and they were all so smart and accomplished. I was thinking, āI donāt know how I got this.āā
As she worked this summer, her hesitation quickly evaporated as her supervisors and peers reinforced her confidence in the ways they spoke about her work
āThey were so kind and welcoming, so open to sharing contacts and feedback,ā Szalanski said. āIt didnāt feel like the ābig scary Mayo Clinic.ā It felt like any other hospital lab setting. It felt like a place I wanted to be.ā
Szalanski spent much of the summer in Mayo Clinicās metals lab and the bulk of her work was preparing kidney stones for further study. The stones arrived wet and Szalanski and a colleague made sure they were properly dried for the testing process. They prepared 70-180 samples a day from all over the country with sizes ranging from a grain of sand to one that was baseball size.
She also got experience using inductively coupled plasma (ICP) mass spectrometry to check blood samples for various metals.
The summer experience showed Szalanski that a career as a medical lab scientist fits her, and Mayo happens to offer an MLS program, which she will explore along with other programs.
Her mother previously worked as a phlebotomist and Szalanski grew up in lab settings and enjoyed being around lab technicians. When she took Lakelandās microbiology course, it reaffirmed her love for this field.
āThis is exactly what I want to do with my life,ā said Szalanski, noting that hematology and microbiology are both areas of interest for her. āThis is something I am super passionate about.ā
As she enters her final year at Lakeland, Szalanski plans to take the positivity of the summer and spread it among her peers.
āI would like to relax more, make more time for myself and be present for the people around me,ā she said. āNow that multiple friends have graduated, I realize is went so fast and I donāt know when I am going to see them again. I want to drink in the opportunity I have to be around the people I have grown so fond of and the connections made all around campus.ā
