Student Spotlight: Katherine Giorgio

Here at SDSM&T we have a growing and thriving community of pre-health students. Today, we are shining a spotlight on Katherine Giorgio. Katherine is an applied biological science major. She is interested in epidemiology and plans to pursue a graduate degree in that field following completion of her B.S. We caught up with Katherine to ask her about her pre-health journey and how she is preparing for a career in health care.

As a student preparing for a career as an epidemiologist, have you done any research? 

Almost all of my career preparation has come from research experiences. I did research in Dr. Wang's lab at USD the summer before starting college, then I did research in Dr. Sinden's lab during my freshman year. These labs were both in basic biomedical sciences. Since the summer after my Sophomore year, I have worked for the Avera Center for Pediatric and Community Research. The main research project I have been involved in is part of a national NIH study investigating environmental factors that affect child health and development. Our work is primarily focused on data collection from our cohort of 2000+ mothers and children.

What kinds of volunteering do you do?

 I am highly involved in the Newman center on campus. This isn't exactly volunteering, but it is all about community! In the past I have led music sessions at a nursing home here in town.

How did you prepare for taking the GRE?

I plan to take the GRE this spring. So far I have participated in a GRE prep course that was offered through my research internship program. I have a prep book that I will use when I begin studying on my own.

How did you prepare for your interviews?

I have not done any interviews for post-graduate education yet. For other types of interviews that I've had, I find that writing down the main ideas I want to get across helps me to not stumble over my words.

What do you do when you aren’t studying?

I like to study alone, so I like to free time with my friends whenever I can. We like to go hiking, cook dinner, play music, and watch movies. I also enjoy chatting with friends at coffee shops.

How do you manage stress?

This has been an important learning curve for me throughout college :) One thing that helps me is giving my attention to my internal to-do list that wants to run through my mind only when I need to. Then once things are written down and organized on paper, I forget about it in my mind and make sure it gets a chance to relax and enjoy whatever I'm doing that day.

What advice do you have for our freshman pre-health students?

My advice is to take time to reflect on what you're passionate about and why, and then go do more of that! I have found a lot of motivation and inspiration through getting invested in the community, specifically because I see how it can improve peoples' lives through public health. Now looking at graduate schools, I feel like I have something unique I could contribute to an Epidemiology program because of my experiences here in Rapid City.