Rachel Murphy always wanted to study abroad and in the Summer of 2022 she made it happen by going to Kenya. In September of 2021 she started looking at different programs specifically with Health Care and Business experience together. She wanted a study abroad program that would compliment her Health Care Management major and that was verified and supported by Cleveland State University.

She applied for an internship with the School for International Training in January of 2022. The internship required approval from a faculty advisor and the college as well as essays. She heard back in March that she received the position.

"I just decided to go for it and that it would be my summer," Rachel said. "Through the school, we decided what we wanted to focus on and what our projects would be. I created a program that went into primary schools and worked with survivors of all types of violence, but specifically sexual gender based violence. The research that I was able to conduct intended to expose the number of sexual violence cases that go unreported and to help guide individuals through the process of recovery."

"I reported statistics and provided statistical analysis working alongside the clinicians," she added. "It was an extremely fulfilling job. I was in Kenya for 2 months and loved my time there. I was sad to leave at the end of 2 months. The people that I was with on the internship have become a big part of my life. I was exposed to so much. My experience was definitely eye-opening, impactful and empowering."

Rachel was also exposed to different Health Care systems and able to immerse herself in Kenyan culture, learn about the landmarks and the culture. She was able to see much of Kenya and the group took excursions including Nairobi, Kit Mikayi, Ndeere Island, Massai Mara, climbing Mount Kenya and even traveling to the source of the Nile in Uganda.

When asked about the language barrier, let us know that she took Swahili lessons (Swahili and English are the two main languages in Kenya). "It was not as huge a language barrier as one might think," Rachel said. "The people we worked with were appreciative of the students learning Swahili and a lot of the survivors spoke to the clinicians in Swahili. It is something that I would like to keep learning."

"My internship in Kenya was freeing and beautiful," Rachel said. "It gave me a sneak peek into a bigger part of who I want to be and what I want to do professionally and personally."

Rachel is graduating in May of 2023 and hopes to find a job working with survivors of sexual violence. "Whether it is full-time, part-time or on the side, my time spent in Kenya will always stay with me and I feel called to have some role in that in the future," she added.

"Dean Robertson, my HCA 440 professor, empowered me throughout my studies and encouraged me throughout my internship experience," Rachel said. "He made me realize that business professionals with X number of years of experience do care what new grads have to say and think."

The third year Health Care Management Major is also pursuing a Minor in Professional Selling. 

"I added the Professional Selling Minor because I was always told that I am a good salesperson," Rachel said. "I think it is because of my serving and bartending experience so I wanted to pursue that on top of the major."

As a result of College Credit Plus classes and taking community college courses the summers between her sophomore and junior year and her junior and senior year of high school, Rachel is a Senior and will graduate in May of 2023. 

Rachel wasn't always a business major. She started off in Chemical Engineering, but knew that she wanted to pursue Health Care as a career. Cleveland State University has a 4+1 program with Chemical Engineering and Biomedical Engineering. As she took courses, Rachel started to realize that Chemical Engineering could be more than what was presented in her classes. She began exploring careers along her interests and discovered the Health Care Management Major.

"I chose Cleveland State because I knew I wanted to be in a city. I grew up about 35 minutes east of Cleveland and when I visited, I felt a sense of home." Rachel added "I liked the atmosphere at CSU. When I visited, I had my eyes on a study abroad program and on one of my visit days there was a table for study abroad. Even after 3 years on campus, I am still finding new things to do in Cleveland."

During her time at CSU Rachel was a student peer teacher for OPStem and taught Pre-Calculus I and II for two semesters. She is the recipient of the President's Award Scholarship, a college of business scholarship, a Choose Ohio First scholarship and an OpStem Scholar.

She currently works part-time as an office administrator at a dental office (front desk, managerial work) in addition to waitressing and bartending. During the Summer of 2023, Rachel has an internship lined up with the Ohio Export Internship program at Checkpoint Surgical and after, she plans to look for a full-time job.