Welcome to our 2020 Summer Internship series! In today's post, you'll meet interns who are working in marketing, IT, Population Health and more. While their roles are varied throughout our healthcare system, our interns are focused on one common goal: delivering high-quality care to patients.
Name: DeAndre Williams
School: Florida Atlantic University
Major: Management Information Systems with a concentration in Information Security
Graduation Date: December 2020
My internship location and mentor: ISC Building
Where I was born/raised: Tampa, Florida
How the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted my education and what the experience has taught me: Fortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic did not affect my education however, it did teach me to cherish the nature of having the ability to connect with people in person.
The most influential person to me: The most influential person to me is the person I was the day before. I find analyzing my daily actions and comparing them with my values essential as it helps me redirect habits and build new ones. Overall, my past self inspires me to be a better person every day because there is always something to improve on.
Why I’m interested in healthcare: I find interest in healthcare because it is something within any economy that is essential. Without healthcare, life expectancy and overall health of populations would not be well maintained and treated. In turn, implementing myself within an healthcare environment allows me to make a difference in people lives alongside keep me driven to be as healthy as I can be.
What I hope to learn during my Broward Health internship: During my internship, I look forward to learning about information security and how it is managed within an healthcare environment. In Addition, I look forward to learning how to use SQL database, analyst computer systems for any malware, configure and image computers, how to take customer issues and create solutions and much more.
A fun fact about me: I am one out of 24 brothers/sisters.
Name: Akil Williams
School: Georgia State University
Major: Computer Information Systems
Graduation Date: May 2020
My internship location and mentor: I am working in IT and the two leaders I'm working with are Mary Hummel and Mahmoud Alkhuja.
Where I was born/raised: Born in Jamaica and lived in Easton, Pennsylvania until I was nine then moved to Atlanta, Georgia where I was raised and currently reside.
How the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted my education and what the experience has taught me: I don't think it has impacted my education too much but it has showed me that you have to be able to adapt quickly and be ready for the unexpected.
The most influential person to me: Actually, I have two influential figures in my life which are my mother and father. I picked both of them of them because they were able to accomplish their career goals
Why I’m interested in healthcare: I decided to study Computer Information Systems and that degree brings you to a variety of fields, so being that my mother has worked in the health field for many years I was immediately drawn to healthcare.
What I hope to learn during my Broward Health internship: I hope to get more insight on the cyber security position and also learning more about how IT compliments the healthcare industry not just from a security standpoint but in all the various concentration of IT.
A fun fact about me: I played two years of college soccer at Middle Georgia State before transferring to Georgia State.
Name: Alexis Van Ienten
School: Florida State University
Major: Marketing
Graduation Date: Spring 2021
My internship location and mentor: BHMC, Elizabeth Hernandez
Where I was born/raised: South Florida/Broward County
How the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted my education and what the experience has taught me: COVID-19 has caused me to dramatically shift my priorities and has taught me to be even more vigilant of myself and my surroundings.
The most influential person to me: My mom
Why I’m interested in healthcare: I enjoy making people happy and improving quality of life wherever and whenever possible. Healthcare is also very interesting to me because it is probably one of the only businesses that everyone in the United States will experience or come in contact with at some point in their lives, whether voluntary or involuntary.
What I hope to learn during my Broward Health internship: I hope to learn more about the business side of healthcare and all of the behind-the-scenes puzzle pieces that hold a hospital system together.
A fun fact about me: I love cooking and baking, especially for other people.
Name: Alexa Swirsky
School: University of Central Florida
Major: Health Sciences Pre-clinical Track
Graduation Date: 2022
My internship location and mentor: BHCO-ISC Gavin Malcom
Where I was born/raised: Plantation, Florida
How the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted my education and what the experience has taught me: The COVID-19 pandemic has had a major impact on my education, in a positive way. I have learned to be more diligent and time efficient with my tasks and truly understand that education is all about what you put into it. Though learning virtually has had some getting used to, I still am able to sit in on my professor's lectures and send emails whenever I have questions. This experience has taught me to never take face-to-face interactions for granted ever again.
The most influential person to me: My father
Why I’m interested in healthcare: I have an extensive history playing sports that unfortunately came with plenty of injuries. I want to be able to help young athletes with their injuries and truly connect with them on a personal level by sharing my experiences.
What I hope to learn during my Broward Health internship: I hope to learn about the administrative side of the health care system. I have had many opportunities to shadow physicians in the operating room and clinics so to see the complete opposite side of the healthcare system and truly immerse myself into population health is extremely eye opening.
A fun fact about me: I can do a variety of flips
Name: Sam Simon
School: University of Florida
Major: Business Management and Masters of International Business Combined Degree
Graduation Date: August 2020
My internship location and mentor: Broward Health Medical Center; Marko Serrano Jr.
Where I was born/raised: Tampa, FL
How the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted my education and what the experience has taught me: My senior year was cut short and had me scrambling to find the next step in my life. The pandemic taught me to never take anything for granted and value your health over anything else.
The most influential person to me: Arnold Schwarzenegger
Why I’m interested in healthcare: The people. The people who work in healthcare aren’t like those found in a traditional cooperate environment. Everyone is motivated and committed to making a difference.
What I hope to learn during my Broward Health internship: How to succeed and thrive in this industry.
A fun fact about me: I used to ride bulls and have been to over 20 different countries!