Sean Herrin, former Dankmeyer high school summer intern, was recently named one of the winners of the McCormick Honors 2017 Unsung Heroes award.  This scholarship is awarded annually by McCormick & Company and is valued at $40,000 over four years.  Sean, of Delaney High School, was one of two students selected from over 111 honorees recognized as Unsung Heroes at the event on May 1, 2017.  These student-athletes represented over 65 Baltimore area schools.  The program was founded in 1940 by Charles McCormick Sr to recognize athletes for unselfish team play and to highlight the efforts of those who contribute selflessly to their teams.   

From the McCormick press release on the event:

"Sean Herrin took special pride in being a Peer Assistant on his Allied Soccer team for players with disabilities.  He spent his time with the kids getting to know them as peers, while helping them achieve athletic success on the field.  Herrin dedicates much of his time and energy to serving students with disabilities in other aspects of his life; he mentors disabled children in bowling, softball and ice hockey, volunteers at Kennedy Krieger’s ROAR for Autism fundraiser, and has spent three summers interning at a company that produces prosthetic limbs.  Richard Reed, Herrin’s Athletic Director, said that he is “quite an amazing young man, one who truly embodies the term ‘Unsung Hero’ on the athletic field and in the game of life.”  Herrin, a senior, will attend the University of Maryland Baltimore County next fall."

Dankmeyer's summer intern program is well sought after.  Angie Bryl, CPO, Clinical Director, runs the annual program.  Generally, the purpose of prosthetic/orthotic intern programs is to provide students early access to the profession.  Angie was recently interviewed for an article in the May 2017 issue of O&P Almanac about industry efforts to provide grade school and high school students this exposure to prosthetics and orthotics.  The growth of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) programs in many schools provides a number of students who are interested in STEM related professional explorations.

According to the article, more than 90% of millennials like using their professional skills to benefit a good cause.  O&P offers an environment that embraces technology combined with patient care.  As part of Dankmeyer’s intern program, Sean would have shadowed staff, received hands-on training in the fabrication of devices, conversed with patients, and gained general knowledge about O&P.  Additionally, as the students learn from O&P professionals, the pros can learn from the students.  As Angie says in the article, “We can get stuck in our ways at times, and students often bring fresh ideas… They bring other things that they learned in the classroom or from their experiences to our work.”  Both intern and professional stand to benefit from the exchanges that occur in these programs.

As Sean prepares to graduate from high school, we will also be preparing to welcome a new batch of summer interns.   We are so happy for Sean and this well deserved honor and wish him the best of luck as he continues his education!

If you would like to know more about learning experiences with Dankmeyer, send an email to info@dankmeyer.com.