The UC Denver Experiential Learning Center (ELC) facilitates hundreds of internships each year. To recognize student accomplishments as interns, one student intern is named as “outstanding.” The 2010-11 Outstanding Intern of the Year recipient is Anne Mailhot, undergraduate biology.Mailhot participated in a summer 2010 undergraduate research internship with Virginia Winn, MD, a researcher in Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University Of Colorado School Of Medicine. Throughout the internship, Mailhot was teamed with professional research staff and contributed in experiments related to placental biopsies.
Mailhot’s commitment to excellence impressed her faculty sponsor Aimee Bernard, PhD. In her nomination, Bernard wrote, “Anne was a very hard-working, dedicated and consistently exemplary student . . . [who] serves as a role model for future internship students.” It was Mailhot’s dedication and great work ethic that helped her exceed in the challenging biology internship.
Mailhot went above and beyond basic intern requirements by utilizing her public speaking skills to showcase her part in Winn’s research at the April 15 Research and Creative Activities Symposium, resulting in a nomination for the Outstanding Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities award. For that endeavor, Mailhot was awarded the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Research.
According to Winn, the department profited from Mailhot’s hard work, particularly due to a new database system she created to better organize departmental information.
Mailhot said the work benefitted her, too. “This experience helped to reaffirm my goals to pursue a career as a physician and, unexpectedly, had profound impacts on my individuality, perseverance and confidence.”
Since graduating, Mailhot is utilizing her expertise as a Clinical Research Coordinator at the Anschutz Medical Campus. She also will be a keynote speaker for the Experiential Learning Showcase and Celebration occurring spring 2012.
She credits her internship for developing skills needed to further her career in the biological field. “I will continue to use the skills that I developed from the guidance of my mentors and the experiences I gained from research as I continue on my path as a professional and as an aspiring physician.”
