Where are they now? Jill Odenthal Sracic
July 27, 2011 | Volleyball
July 27, 2011
MADISON, Wis. - For former volleyball player Jill Odenthal Sracic, her volleyball career ended with her earning All-America honors but her current career is even more impressive.
Odenthal, who played for the Badgers from 2001-04, earned her undergraduate degree in genetics. After working for a year, the Geneva, Ill., native returned to the UW to earn her medical degree, specializing in emergency medicine. Dr. Odenthal Sracic recently moved to Indianapolis with her husband Michael, a former UW track and field athlete, to begin her residency.
UWBadgers.com got up with Odenthal Sracic. Read all about the challenges she faces in her new career and her recent trip to Guatamala.
Name: Jill Odenthal Sracic
Age: 27
Profession: Emergency medicine resident physician
Degrees: I graduated with a bachelor’s degree in genetics in 2006 and earned my medical degree from the UW in 2011.
Where do you live and how long have you been there?
Indianapolis, Ind. My husband and I recently relocated here one month ago from Madison following medical school.
Tell us about your family:
My family consists of myself and my husband, former UW track and field athlete Michael Sracic. We have no children yet, but we do own a fat cat named Franklin.
Catch us up on what you have been doing since graduation:
Since finishing volleyball, I studied abroad in Florence, Italy, and then worked for a local Madison biotech company for a year. In 2007, I entered medical school at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health and completed my MD this year. Along the way, I got married to Michael, whom I have been dating since undergrad (and who is simultaneously completing his PhD in engineering). I matched into an emergency medicine residency at Indiana University Health in Indianapolis and expect to complete my board certification in 2014.
How did your Wisconsin degree help you in your vocation?
I earned both of my degrees from Wisconsin and they have been instrumental in developing my professional career. My original intent was to pursue a PhD in genetics, as I enjoyed bench research. However, I found that I enjoyed the personal interactions in medicine even more. I was fortunate enough to spend 10 years in Madison and I believe that the university helped put me on the path to career satisfaction and lifelong learning. I do not know where my career will ultimately take me, but I will always be a Badger through and through!
What have been some of the highlights of your career?
As far as volleyball goes, I couldn’t have asked to finish on a better note at the NCAA Elite Eight and playing with some truly remarkable athletes along the way.
As for my professional career, it is hard to say at this point, as each day brings new and unexpected challenges. I am grateful to each and every patient I have had the opportunity to treat. I learn infinitely more than I ever expected with every encounter - both about medicine and about myself. It is overwhelming to experience the extraordinary compassion and courage of the average person when faced with life’s greatest challenges. It’s very humbling!
What is your best memory of being a student-athlete at Wisconsin?
It’s hard to choose, as there are so many. I had an opportunity to play with the best teammates I could ask for! Winning the Big Ten championship my freshman year and finishing in the Elite Eight my senior year are two favorites. Becoming an All-American my senior year was an unexpected, but amazing end to my career as a Badger.
What is your favorite memory of Madison?
Another tough question! I love Madison and have so many happy memories - summers, the Terrace, football games, the parks. I met my husband and some of my best friends there. Madison will always and forever be a very special place for me!
You spent this past summer on an amazing opportunity. Tell us about it.
I recently had the opportunity to take a trip to Guatemala . I lived with a host family for a month in Quetzaltenango (or Xela as the locals call it) while I worked on my Spanish and volunteered on a few projects. We built stoves for Mayan families, who had previously relied on burning of charcoal and firewood indoors, and I also worked at a children’s daycare facility outside the city.
I would love to say that I was able to give something back, but I honestly believe that the Guatemalans taught me so much more. I had a chance to hike some volcanoes and visit fellow medical school classmate (and former Badger track alum) Nate Brown as he was working at a small hospital in Santiago de Atitlan. It’s a trip I will never forget and I hope to use this experience to make international medicine part of my future career!
