Erica Schindewolf ’12
Looking Back
I came from Hatboro Horsham High School (about 45 minutes from Ursinus) and majored in Biology and Psychology. Originally, I didn’t think I wanted to go to a small school close to home, but I came for an overnight visit and fell in love because every student I spoke with loved their experience and was genuinely happy here.
I became involved on campus my first year, joining student government as secretary and eventually became president of my class by senior year.
During my time at Ursinus I also had so many transformative professors, including those who introduced me to child development research and taught me to apply evolutionary psychology in an accessible way. I also had Professor Kozusko for CIE I and took his Shakespeare in Movies class, despite having no interest in English. It was by far my favorite and most referenced class to date! I now teach for the University of Pennsylvania and often think about the connections he made and the creativity he brought to class, and I strive to bring the same passion to my students
Hands-On Experiences
I entered into Ursinus knowing I wanted to pursue genetic counseling, but I did not have an exact pathway carved out. I contacted Ursinus alumni in the field and obtained an internship at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) doing cardiac genetics research my freshman year. Eleven years later, I still work closely with the people I worked with in that internship!
As an intern at CHOP, I worked with a disease called 22q11.2 deletion syndrome which is the most common microdeletion syndrome. Since then, I’ve been asked to speak nationally, internationally, write textbook chapters as well as best practice guidelines about this condition.
My senior year at Ursinus, I worked as the Assistant Resident Director, working with the professional team on crisis counseling. I was able to utilize those experiences as I was entering grad school and still can draw upon them in my current role caring for families with life limiting diagnoses.
After Ursinus
Immediately after graduation, I was accepted into Arcadia University’s (now Penn’s) Genetic Counseling program as one of the few individuals accepted straight from undergraduate. While there, I was selected for CHOP’s Leadership in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disorders Fellowship and received the Excellence in Counseling Award.
Currently, I work as a Genetic Counseling Specialist at the Center for Fetal Diagnosis and Treatment at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. I care for families whose pregnancies are affected with birth defects and require surgery immediately after birth or sometimes in utero. I help families understand the intricacies of the diagnosis, discover the cause, empower families to advocate for themselves, and provide psychological support as they navigate very uncertain and scary new territory.
