Meet Matija Matic.

Matija is a 2023 graduate of Drake's undergraduate Health Sciences program from Nicosia, Cyprus. Matija majored in Clinical and Medical Sciences, and his final-year Internship Experience was a research project completed with his mentor Dr. Stacy Gnacinski, associate professor of health sciences. The research that Matija completed was meant to uncover occupational barriers and facilitators to health behaviors generally, and physical activity specifically for police officers. 

Name: Matija Matic
Hometown: Nicosia, Cyprus
Major: Clinical & Medical Sciences
Senior Internship: Drake University

What were your responsibilities with this internship/research and the overall goal?

During this internship, I have been working on a qualitative research study, with the goal of looking at occupational barriers and occupational facilitators to physical activity and fitness in the police officer population. I received a Student Harris Research Grant from Drake for this study.  I also helped faculty members with data entry for a quantitative research study that had the goal of promoting health and fitness in the police officer population.

What has been your favorite thing about this Internship Experience?

My favorite things about this internship are that it allowed me to collect data, be the author of a research study, and be a co-author for an abstract that has been submitted for publishing. The internship taught me all the steps that need to be taken to complete a research study. The whole experience was very valuable to my future career goals, and it allowed me to apply everything I learned in the classroom to real life.

What made you choose Drake and the Health Sciences program?

I chose Drake because I heard that the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences had numerous good programs and that I would receive a great education that would allow me to be well-prepared for my future career. I also chose Drake because I wanted to be a student-athlete, and I heard that Drake had a good tennis team. Hence, this was the ideal university for me to get the education I wanted and to be a student-athlete.

What are your career goals or plans after graduation?

I plan on completing the Master of Science in Leadership Development at Drake. I then plan to continue my education by completing a master’s degree in pharmacy or health analytics in Europe and will hopefully fulfill my dream of working in the pharmaceutical or medical industries.