Fenner Reflects on an Opportunity That Reinforced His Career Aspirations

Lincoln, NE - Still in scrubs from a morning at the hospital, finding time to fuel his body with proper nutrition before a busy afternoon of practice and evening of classes is essential for this student-athlete.

Sadio Fenner, a junior on Nebraska's Cross Country and Track & Field teams, aspires to build a career in the medical field and has found a way to advance his professional goals while managing the duties of being a student-athlete even during the current events.

Entering college, Fenner began studying pre-medicine with hopes of entering the medical profession, particularly sports medicine. As the pandemic took its course, an unexpected opportunity to earn professional experience was presented to him.

"Somebody reached out to me from the hospital about a lab tech position for COVID," explained Fenner. "They said we were just going to be running samples and what not, and I was like 'that sounds, you know, pretty easy to do'."

Fenner originally began as a lab technician at CHI Health St. Elizabeth on September 1. A few weeks later, he was given an opportunity to work in a different role.

"Not going to lie, I got pretty tired of running samples," said Fenner. "After about a week, I was like this is pretty easy and anybody could do this. So, I spoke to my boss, and she was like, 'I mean if you think that you can do phlebotomy then we'll let you shadow somebody. We'll see how you do, and then we'll make a decision as to whether or not we hire you as a phlebotomist.'"

A week after that conversation, he was given a position as a phlebotomist and has been doing it ever since. This new role has not come without any challenges as he took it while the pandemic was in full swing. 

"It's been a little chaotic," Fenner said. "I mean, I work with literally everybody from outpatient to ER/OR. COVID has made that a little bit challenging. I mean you have to gown up every time you go into a room, make sure you're following all the safety protocols/PPE, and make sure you sanitize everything."

Not only does Fenner have to worry about the challenges at the hospital, but he also has to worry about his teammates.

 "We've done a pretty good job of keeping everybody safe that works there, which is really beneficial especially for me still being around my teammates," mentions Fenner. "I've got to make sure that I'm safe so that they can be safe as well."

Although this position at St. Elizabeth's has become very important to Fenner, he still has to make sure he finds time to focus on his schoolwork and competition. His biggest priority is making sure that he puts forth the same effort for everything, which is why he has tried to keep his activities on a tight schedule.

"I block everything out into hours. I tend to go to work from eight to noon most days. Then from noon to one is my lunchtime and from three to five is practice. After that I'm doing homework, and then just throwing in classes and leadership groups during the evening as well," explained Fenner. "It's just about making sure you give yourself enough time to get things done."

His hard work has not been unnoticed by those around him. While being a student, athlete, and phlebotomist, Fenner continues to actively participate in leadership groups like SAAC, MSAC, N-Volved, and N-Vest. Even with a lot on his plate, Fenner has not allowed his performance at practice to be impacted.

"He is a very introspective person. He is a thinker and has many interests and a very good work ethic," said Huskers Cross Country Head Coach, David Harris. "Just recently, in between indoor and outdoor seasons, I have given the athletes a chance to run on their own and design some of their own workouts, and he seems like he is doing a good job."

Coach Harris has seen Fenner balance school, work, and his sport throughout the past few months and has noticed that Fenner has been able to handle it very well while still working his hardest to achieve top times in Track & Field and Cross Country. Coach Harris hopes to see him accomplish some of his goals while at Nebraska, but he also wishes the best for Fenner as he continues his life outside of sports.  

"My wishes for him are to take his degree at the University of Nebraska and go onto further graduate work and medical school. He has done a lot for our team, especially when it comes to diversity awareness," commented Coach Harris. "He will be a real credit to the medical profession and society as a whole."

As Fenner looks towards the future, he hopes to either pursue a master's degree or enter medical school, but he won't forget the experience he has gained and all that he has learned from this unexpected opportunity.

 "It's very interesting. I never thought I would be doing something like this," said Fenner as he reflected on the opportunity he has been given.