Despite interning at the Morgridge Center for a short period, Madeleine Girard ‘20, now a human factors and usability engineer, credits the experience with shaping her career approach.
Girard first discovered the Morgridge Center through one of her friends who frequently praised the warm and inclusive environment. Inspired by her friend’s enthusiasm, she applied for an open fiscal intern position and was eventually hired. In her role, Girard assisted with the center’s finances and performed accounting tasks—responsibilities that aligned well with her accounting engineering class and allowed her to put her classroom knowledge to use.
Though her internship wasn’t directly related to her major in industrial and systems engineering, Girard appreciates how it helped her build strong interpersonal skills.
“There were so many positive aspects of working at the center, but one in particular was the collaborative environment. I learned to interact and connect with people on a deeper level,” Girard shares. “I remember attending all-staff meetings where I could chat with colleagues and discover the work happening across departments.”
She also fondly recalls her supervisor Dean Ladwig, who cultivated camaraderie in the workplace by organizing regular dinner check-ins with the administrative team. The informal meetings fostered an environment where colleagues could provide updates about their work, in addition to checking up on each other emotionally.
“I looked forward to those meetings—they made work feel less like a task and more like a community. I understand how rare of an experience that is when it comes to jobs,” Girard says.
In addition to the center’s welcoming and supportive environment, she believes that its core values played a significant role in shaping her career decisions. She shares her admiration for the Morgridge Center’s mission to connect the UW-Madison campus with the broader community through public service, highlighting how the shared sense of purpose among staff made the work deeply meaningful.
“My first job after graduation was at a large company without a clear mission, and that transition was challenging,” Girard says. “It made me realize how essential it is to work for an organization with a mission you’re passionate about.”
Now a human factors and usability engineer at Fresenius Medical Care North America, a premier healthcare company that provides renal care products and services, Girard works in a niche field focused on biomedical technology for kidney dialysis. Fresenius operates around 40 production sites globally, providing dialysis products such as dialysis machines, dialyzers and related disposables.
While the field is specialized, Girard hopes it will continue to expand, especially given her role in enhancing patient care.
“Fresenius installs devices into patient’s homes, allowing them to receive treatment more conveniently, sometimes even while they sleep,” she explains.
After patients use the devices, Girard monitors progress, collects feedback and implements these findings into any device modifications.
As a healthcare industry engineer, Girard recognizes the critical role of soft skills, especially empathy, in designing patient-centered medical devices. She believes empathy significantly impacts patient outcomes, extending beyond just interactions between physicians and patients.
Human factors and usability engineers are essential in ensuring that medical devices align with the daily lives of patients, requiring a thoughtful understanding of their experiences. The emphasis of community and inclusivity at the center strives to instill values of empathy and humility in interns like Girard.
“The interpersonal skills I developed at the Morgridge Center still influence my work today,” Girard says. “I’m grateful to have had that experience, even if just for a short time.”