Ferris State University senior Taryn Welling is working at the Mayo Clinic, the nation’s top-ranked hospital, gaining experience that will lead to a career in the sciences and her life’s mission to solve problems and help others.

The Mayo Clinic, located in Rochester, Minnesota, is the world’s largest integrated, not-for-profit, academic medical group practice focused on healthcare, education and research.

The clinic’s work is renowned for early diagnoses and new cures. Among Mayo Clinic’s areas of specialization are cancer, cardiology and heart surgery, diabetes and endocrinology. 

Welling learned about the Mayo Clinic Summer Lab Science Program from Daniel deRegnier, the coordinator for Ferris State’s Medical Laboratory Sciences program.

“He sent out an announcement for our class and I figured, “Why not throw my hat in the ring!’” Welling said. “I never really thought I would get the internship. So, when I did, I was shocked, nervous -- and very excited.”

Welling is working in the hospital’s Blood Components Laboratory.

“Generally speaking, blood donations are received, processed and separated in the components lab to bring out useful materials,” Welling said. “We also manufacture cryoprecipitate, a plasma derivative rich in clotting factors. Cryo can be used in patients with factor deficiencies and clotting disorders. What I learned in classes and laboratories at Ferris familiarized me with the essentials to perform these processes.”

Welling became interested in the STEM fields – science, technology, engineering, and mathematics -- when she was much younger. 

“I was always quite involved in science related extracurricular activities like Science Olympiad, which opened my eyes to the various opportunities in STEM,” she said. “For me, choosing Medical Laboratory Sciences was the perfect choice because I am the type of person who sees a need and makes it my mission to fill it. I love science, and MLS gave me an opportunity to do both of those things as a career.”

Welling, a native of Paw Paw, is planning to graduate in May 2025 and is still determining which direction her career journey will head.

“I have my last term of classes in the fall and then will complete a capstone internship somewhere in Michigan,” Welling said. “This will help me determine what course I follow in terms of further study or beginning my work as a professional.”

She was amazed by the efficiency of the massive organization.

“Efficiency in medical facilities counts,” she said. “It speaks highly of Ferris’ Medical Laboratory Sciences program that I can fully engage in laboratory work at an organization of this caliber.”

DeRegnier said Welling is the eighth Ferris State student to intern at the Mayo Clinic.

He said such internships create opportunities for students to get hands-on experiences in a world-class hospital and lab. Plus, the internships help build a talented workforce in high-tech, high-demand fields here in Michigan, so students won’t need to leave the state and their families to find jobs. 

About 24,000 openings for clinical laboratory technologists and technicians are projected each year, on average, over the decade ending in 2032, and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports shortages of these professionals for many areas of the country. The Bureau also cites an hourly wage rate of nearly $30 an hour and a median pay of over $60,000 annually.

_{Photo credit to Ferris State University.}