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Senior Jessi Shank uses Internship Enrichment Scholarship to launch career in health care administration

Jessi Shank, a senior in Health Services Administration in the Department of Political Science, spent this semester in Texas making a name for herself in health care administration as an intern for HCA Healthcare.

During her internship with HCA this spring, Shank applied everything she learned in the classroom at several practices around Houston.

“In Health Services Administration, I always wanted to learn more, and I figured out I was more intrigued by the business side than on the front line,” Shank said. “All my classes prepared me for the internship. At the startups, I get the ball rolling for them, and at established practices, I’m doing their insurance verifications.”

As an HCA intern, Shank was first tasked with helping establish a small, family practice in Cypress, Texas. She was instrumental in getting the startup clinic off the ground and increasing patient volume. She then transferred to a vascular group in Houston to oversee insurance verifications.

Until the end of the semester, Shank is splitting her time between a gynecology startup and an established ear, nose and throat doctor’s office. When she graduates, she will transition to a full-time, medical office coordinator position at the gynecology clinic where she interns.

Shank got the job after being recommended by people she worked with during her HCA internship and said networking is the most important part of an internship.

“I’m getting to go out and meet people and see how different practices run, especially seeing the different speeds of startups and established practices,” Shank said. “In HCA, they always want you to grow, so being able to network through physician dinners or getting to see multiple practices has definitely helped me and made me excited for the internship.”

Shank was supported in part by the Internship Enrichment Scholarship, sponsored by the Office of Career Services in the College of Liberal Arts. The Internship Enrichment Scholarship provides up to $3,000 to CLA students who have secured an internship closely related to their career goals and who need financial support to complete it.

Shank was a spring 2022 recipient of the scholarship, and used the funds to cover transportation costs, professional wardrobe needs, office supplies and other necessities during her internship.

For more information about the Internship Enrichment Scholarship, including application deadlines, visit the Career Services website.

Tags: Political Science