Oktawia Gielarowiec ’21 knows that she will learn, grow, and be better prepared for whatever life has in store when she takes advantage of the resources and opportunities around her. She believes she can achieve her dream to improve the United States health care system because of the connections she has made with staff, faculty, alumni, and employers at the University of New Hampshire. The leadership opportunities, internship experiences, and mentoring relationships she took advantage of helped her appreciate different backgrounds and viewpoints, while also showing her that she can impact policy as well as provide services and advocacy for populations that may not receive the attention they need.
When Oktawia moved to the United States from Poland at age three with her parents, they worked incredibly hard to show her that anything is possible. She was raised to appreciate her family’s heritage and took Polish language classes every Saturday. The lessons she learned growing up in a family with such strong ties to their heritage taught her that she also needed to experience other cultures in order to provide holistic care for her patients. Pursuing a dual degree in biomedical science and health management and policy meant she could not study abroad for an entire semester, so she found other ways to learn about different cultures: she backpacked through Europe one summer, and then backpacked through Thailand, Vietnam, and Cambodia in early spring 2020. This outside perspective inspired her “to continue to take on challenging and diverse opportunities because the world is so big” and showed her that there are myriad ways to use her voice to help others.
To Oktawia, being a Wildcat means “being there for each other, stepping up when you see an injustice, and sticking together,” especially when faced with adversity. Part of why the health management and policy major spoke to her, and why she got involved in leadership roles like being an Academic and Career Engagement mentor for the College of Health and Human Services, is because she saw that she could help positively impact the experiences and lives of others by understanding and then improving the way organizations operate. Being able to have an internship at Exeter Hospital with the CEO allowed her to participate in many departmental meetings, as well as informational interviews, to learn more about hospital operations. She was also tasked with a telehealth solutions project that was very relevant during a global pandemic; she saw in real time the services that telehealth could provide to patients. Her year-long experience as a Center for Disease Control intern included conducting a systematic review of guidelines used in healthcare related to HIV/AIDS, which will impact the approach medical professionals across the United States take when treating and caring for their patients. She has also worked in geriatric care, a field that does not have as many specialized doctors as the population calls for. With the Baby Boomer generation continuing to age and need care, she sees an opportunity to make a large impact on the way the medical field approaches care for the elderly.
These experiences not only helped Oktawia develop as a young professional, they solidified for her that this is the work she is meant to do. She plans to work for a year after graduating in order to save money for medical school and then specialize in the field of geriatrics. Her love of learning, especially in an untapped field like geriatrics, will allow her to continue to conduct research while also informing policy. She has observed that elders in many other countries are treated with respect and that medical care can be informed by how we see certain populations, another reason why she wants to be part of creating and implementing policy that can lift others up.
Oktawia says she often thinks about how she can bring others up as she advances, not only professionally but personally. She credits the support of her family, UNH staff, faculty, and alumni, as well as the employers she was able to work for, with presenting opportunities for her to choose from, and then giving her the space to make the experience her own. She shared some advice for other Wildcats, saying, “You don’t realize all the directions that you can take your life. Don’t be scared, put yourself out there! Everyone is here to help you and build you up; we are all a family. That is what UNH gave me. It really made all the difference.”
