Blood Relative’s Injury Spurred Red Cross Club President
Senior Cindy Ramirez plans to pursue a career in internal medicine, but the Mary Washington biology major is already putting her studies to work as an EMT and president of UMW’s Red Cross club.
Cindy Ramirez was 8 years old when her sister was injured in a sledding accident that broke her sacrum, a pelvic bone that supports the weight of the upper body.
“I was really nervous, but all I could think about in that moment was how I could help her,” said Ramirez, now a senior at the University of Mary Washington. “That was when I realized I wanted to pursue a career in medicine.”
This future physician is on her way to earning her white coat and stethoscope. An honors student majoring in biology, Ramirez has spent countless days and pulled all-nighters in the Jepson Science Center, memorizing organs, muscles and bones – like the one her sister broke – which will be essential when she attends medical school.
But Ramirez is already applying this critical knowledge. Her four-month training as an EMT wraps up in January, which happens to be National Blood Donor Month. Between rides with the Fredericksburg Rescue Squad, she heads UMW’s Red Cross club, an organization she’s been involved with since her early days at Mary Washington. Read more.
Wild Encounters Prepared Alumna for Zoo Job
Nikki Maticic ’14 earned her stripes – and a UMW biology degree – after impactful study abroad trips to South Africa and the Galápagos Islands. She’s now an animal keeper at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo. Photo courtesy of Nikki Maticic.
Cage diving with great white sharks. Swimming alongside humpback whales. Getting close to lions and leopards on an African safari.
It sounds like a nature TV show, but it’s not. It’s how Nikki Maticic ’14 spent one summer break as a Mary Washington student.
Now she cares for lions, tigers and Andean bears – oh, my! – as well as farm animals at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo. Her dream job as an animal keeper became a reality thanks to a UMW biology degree and study abroad trips to South Africa and the Galápagos Islands. Read more.
In celebration of International Education Week 2019, Nov. 18 to 22, UMW shares stories of students who have studied abroad. One in three Mary Washington students volunteers, interns, conducts research, or joins a faculty-led trip or other UMW-approved experience outside the United States, according to Center for International Education (CIE) Director Jose Sainz. Visit CIE or call (540) 654-1434 for more information.
Nikki Maticic swam with giant tortoises during her study abroad trip to the Galápagos Islands. Photo by Nikki Maticic.
