During a recent St. Jude LIFE visit, Evan Ortlieb got an idea while doing physical fitness tests in the St. Jude Human Performance Lab.
He asked staff members if the lab had an internship program. The St. Jude LIFE participant is Dean of the College of Education and Human Sciences at South Dakota State University. Ortlieb knew students from SDSU would be a good fit.
But there was a problem. One internship spot was open, but SDSU had 2 well-qualified candidates. Students Garret Kerkvliet and Ashtyn Abraham both interviewed for the job.
When St. Jude offered Kerkvliet an internship, Ortlieb assumed that Abraham would not get a position. But a few hours later, St. Jude also offered Abraham an internship. It was the first time the lab had more than 1 intern during the same period.
“They were so good that the team couldn’t choose,” says Ortlieb, who was treated for non-Hodgkin lymphoma at St. Jude about 25 years ago. “The growth these two experienced in 10 weeks was tremendous. For me, it was a surreal experience. What a journey. When I had cancer at 16, my life was torn apart. For years, I was a sick kid with cancer. Now, we are all professionals working together.”