A summer job-shadowing opportunity at the Cleveland Clinic in 2016 turned into more than what neuroscience major Danielle Ramsey ’18 had bargained for, but she wouldn’t have it any other way.
While there, she learned about the Clinic Solutions Mini Case Competition and decided to throw her hat into the race. The competition is an opportunity for African-American and Hispanic/Latino students to compete for scholarship dollars.
Ramsey was accepted as one of the few science majors to enter the competition in November 2016. The trip, however, was the true obstacle for her, since both plane travel and the hotel room were costly.
With the help of Peggy Peeler, professor and chair of the Department of Biology, Ramsey was introduced to Dr. Daisy Conduah ’06, who offered to help with her expenses.
“We are very proud of Danielle, and of Daisy for stepping in to make this happen for her,” Peeler said.
“When I found out, I was beyond grateful that she believed in me enough to become that involved,” Ramsey said. “The faith that she put in me really inspired me to go out and secure a win.”
Ramsey’s team was asked to develop and present ideas on employee engagement. Key elements of the competition include a business case competition, résumé critique, and the opportunity to network with minority professional organizations and Cleveland Clinic leadership.
“I felt honored that I was given the chance to bring such groundbreaking ideas to top officials within the Cleveland Clinic organization, and I made sure that I was able to get all that I could out of that experience.
“Being a neuroscience major and competing against business, accounting and finance majors was pretty intimidating,” Ramsey said. “But it really comforted me knowing that I had a support system of professors and friends at SU that believed in me.”
Ramsey works as an office coordinator at Memorial Sloan Kettering and wants to pursue a career as a physician assistant.
