Jayhawk Career Blueprint Launches Career Industry Trip
As part of the Jayhawk Career Blueprint, KU Leads took seven Jayhawk student-athletes on a career industry trip to the Arthrex global headquarters in Naples, Florida, July 24-26.
The seven student-athletes that traveled down to Naples were: Ahmya McKeithan (Women’s Track & Field- Mathematics), Kaitlin Parks (Volleyball- Journalism), Lauren Gryboski (Swim & Dive – Human Biology & Anthropology), Marcus Freeman Jr (Men’s Track & Field – Master of Business Administration), Mykayla Myers (Volleyball-Sport Management), Oleg Klykov (Men’s Track & Field – Economics), Savanna Desrochers (Softball – Communications).
While Arthrex is a world leader in medical devices production and education in orthopedics, because of the scope of their career offerings it provides an opportunity for student-athletes with a broad range of career interest. Designed to be an immersive professional development experience the student-athletes were able to network, tour, shadow, and learn from the industry leaders at Arthrex.
During the trip, the group stayed at the Innovation Hotel on Arthrex’s 80-acre campus. This allowed for networking meals with Arthrex employees and seamless transition to and from shadowing and professional development presentations.
Along with the main campus, the trip also included touring and meeting leaders at the manufacturing and logistics facilities.
“Arthrex provided a first-class experience for our student-athletes and I look forward to working with them in the future. This trip would not have been possible without University of Kansas Alumni and former baseball student-athletes Jeff Niemeier and Tom Stewart. Jeff and Tom visited my office this past spring and brought Dennis O’Keefe, Arthrex Vice President Communications, and we began exploring what a partnership with Arthrex could look like. To me it makes it even more special that the first industry trip came from a connection with former Jayhawk Student-athletes looking to give back to current student-athletes.”
–Ben Wilson (Senior Director of Student-Athlete Development and Leadership)
“First of all, I’m very grateful that KU Leads gave me the opportunity to attend this professional development trip. I gained valuable insight into the surgical device industry and Arthrex as a company through networking with current Arthrex employees and interns, and especially enjoyed seeing Arthrex’s medical education in action, while watching surgeons practice in the lab. I now also have a greater appreciation for what all goes into making and distributing surgical implants and other tools after touring the manufacturing and logistics centers!”
–Lauren Gryboski (Swim & Dive – Human Biology & Anthropology major)
“My favorite part about the trip to Arthrex was being able to shadow professionals in my chosen career field because it provided me with a lot of helpful insight and being able to make good connections.”
–Savanna Desrochers (Softball –Communications)
“One of the most eye-opening experiences I’ve been a part of. I had no interest nor knowledge about medical device sales beforehand, so the trip to Arthrex broadened my perspective and interest a ton, while also giving me the opportunity to expand my network and professional skills. Speaking with the people at Arthrex showed how much companies are interested in athletes in professional spaces, giving tons of clarification that being not only a student but an athlete can be useful in the future.”
–Marcus Freeman (Men’s Track & Field – Master of Business Administration)
