Broad co-opportunities
UC’s vast offerings allow for a custom education
Sakura Adachi exemplifies the Bearcat spirit: She works hard, she gives back and she takes full advantage of the opportunities the University of Cincinnati offers.
From art, to medicine, to education, to engineering, to business, there's no shortage of areas of study at UC. And with UC's co-op program, there are plenty of ways to add real-world experience to the mix.
Born and raised in Cincinnati, Adachi has always cast a wide net. At UC, she's keeping her future open to opportunity by combining business with medical science.
“I believe that both areas of study are vital to my education and who I want to be post-grad,” she said. “Although I'm not planning on working in the business world, that doesn't mean I can't use all the skills that I've learned in all those classes.”
Adachi gets hands-on experience staining cells at Cincinnati Children's. Photo/provided
Adachi is pursuing dual degrees in both marketing at UC’s Carl H. Lindner College of Business and neurobiology at the College of Arts and Sciences on a pre-medical track.
A Lindner Business Honors and Lindner Honors Plus student, Adachi’s co-op this semester had her working in a research lab at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, helping run lifesaving research in pediatric hepatology.
Why would a Lindner business student seek a hands-on lab experience for her co-op? “Business is applicable in everything nowadays,” Adachi said. “Say I take a business analytics class. Those skills then help me when I'm managing Excel data in the lab.”
Adachi explained that her marketing curriculum rounds out her studies with vital skills and analytical thinking that can directly apply to how she navigates her professional life. She entered college as just a business student, but realized the courses could come in handy even as she saw the potential for a shift in career direction.
Seeing the success her brother achieved as a Lindner Business Honors student, she applied to the college of business with plans to pursue marketing. “My older brother had so many resources and opportunities through LBH,” she said. “I was fortunate enough to get into the program, too.”
“My first year at UC was very business-oriented and I obtained so many soft skills,” she said. “But I felt like something was missing.” So, she loaded up on technical and science-focused classes the following year.
That STEM-filled second year at UC reinforced Adachi’s passion for medicine. She wondered if she should even still pursue business at all. “My dad is a physician, so he’s chirping in one ear. And my brother is a businessman chirping in the other, and both are very successful in their fields,” she explained.
Recognizing the value of both programs, Adachi realized she didn’t have to decide which degree to pursue.
Passion for pediatrics
Adachi earned valuable hands-on lab experience through her co-op working with a team dedicated to developing treatment options for cholestatic and inflammatory liver diseases affecting children and young adults.
Although she is studying neuroscience, Adachi’s co-op was focused on autoimmune liver disease, specifically primary sclerosing cholangitis. “I had to lean on my connections, lean into my business set of things and get my foot through the door,” she explained.
She began her work with Cincinnati Children’s as a volunteer this spring, earning her required certifications before joining the hospital’s Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship.
She rounded out her experience in pediatric care by doing her co-op with Alexander Miethke, MD, medical director of the Cincinnati Children’s liver transplant program and an associate professor for pediatric care at UC.
I believe that both areas of study are vital to my education and who I want to be post-grad.
Sakura Adachi
“I can't really put a finger on exactly what I want to do yet,” Adachi said on joining a hepatology lab instead of a neurology lab. “I'm spreading myself a little bit wider for now.”
One thing is for sure: She wants her work to help the next generation. From working as a kids’ swim coach back in high school to volunteering with her sorority for the Boys & Girls Club as an undergraduate, Adachi loves making a positive impact on kids’ lives.
“If I don't end up doing hepatology and I don't end up doing neuroscience, as long as I'm helping kids, that's really important to me,” she said. “With all these other experiences, I’m always going to be learning from them.”
Getting back to business
Next semester, Adachi will swap out her scrubs for her suitcase. She’s going to study abroad in Verona, Italy, where she will once again hone in on her marketing studies.
“It’s really nice that I get to take a full semester of business classes abroad,” she said.
Tackling two majors is no easy feat. Despite already planning on five years of schooling, Adachi spent this past summer as a full-time online business student while working at Cincinnati Children’s to stay on top of her dual degree requirements.
“It doesn't come without hard work,” Adachi said. “But it’s definitely a nice bonus that I get to have this opportunity and be able to experience new cultures while still being in classes. It's something that I'm very, very grateful for.”
Your career is next
Through one of the nation’s most robust co-op programs, UC students don’t just learn about their future — they live it, alternating classroom study with real, career-shaping experience in industries around the world.
Students: Earn while you learn at UC.
Employers: Find your next hire.
Featured image at top of Adachi looking under a microscope at the lab. Photo/provided
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