COSE education prepared alumna for a career in helping doctors save lives

For alumna Leah Neidecker, St. Cloud State University served as a launching pad for her career in helping physicians save lives. While it wasn’t the first university she attended, she’s thankful it’s where she ended up.

At the beginning of my undergraduate journey, I was enrolled at a different univer-sity. It was not a perfect fit, so after some considerations, I selected SCSU,” she said. My academic performance significantly improved in my new environment and my social life thrived. My overall experience as a student was exceptional.”

Neidecker, who earned her Bachelor of Science in Ecology in 2013, is a program manager in aortic medical science with Medtronic. She collaborates with key opinion leaders in the vascular and cardiothoracic surgery specialties to deliver the most relevant, accurate and data-driven training to health care professionals. The training is offered at no cost to attendees, enabling surgeons to make the best decisions in the treatment of their patients without barriers.

Advances in patient care are continuously occurring thanks to the physicians who are hands-on, screening and treating sick patients every day,” Neidecker said. Being an industry partner to surgeons at the forefront of patient care and medical device innovation is the most rewarding part of my job, as I have visibility to the improvement it has on the lives of those we treat.”

She said aortic disease can be life-threatening without treatment and oftentimes does not show symptoms, making it easy to miss. Through her role, Neidecker said she has become acutely aware of just how many people are affected by aortic disease, and her mission is to limit the impact of the disease on patients’ lives.

My line of work positively influences patient outcomes, as we see cases where patients receive critical care that can extend and improve their lives,” she said. This has an incredible impact on not only the patient, but their families and loved ones as well.”

Neidecker is passionate about the work she does, and credits St. Cloud State for where she is today.

Upon my graduation 10 years ago, I applied at Medtronic and have stayed ever since. While my career has evolved here, I started in a lab, which was a natural transition from my studies and would not have been possible without my degree,” she said. Being an undergrad in the College of Science and Engineering taught me real-world skills like focus, dedication, teamwork, critical thinking and learning through trial and error. My academic experience at SCSU enabled me to thrive in my studies and further my education with an MBA, leading me to where I am today.”