With Celina, we have added yet another sports and fitness enthusiast to our Swiss team. “Sports were a huge part of our family life growing up,” she says. “When I was eight years old, I joined the Leichtathletik-Vereinigung Winterhur, our local athletics club. For a long time, I trained there four to five times a week, with a strong focus on heptathlon.” Nowadays, Celina stays fit by doing CrossFit and downhill biking. “There are so many great downhill trails up in the Swiss mountains and around the city of Winterthur where we live, including one brand-new outdoor trail park.”
During the Covid-19 pandemic, Celina also took up diving, which turned out to be the most transformative new hobby for her. “My boyfriend Beni was a diver long before I met him, and it’s great that we now get to do this together,” she says. Celina got her diving certification in Lake Zurich and still does a few dives a year in local waters, but she particularly enjoys exploring locations overseas. “The most memorable diving experience so far was at Komodo National Park in Indonesia, and the Maldives are also a fantastic destination,” she says. As for what’s still on her bucket list: “Definitely Raja Ampat in the West Papua province of eastern Indonesia – we should plan a trip there soon, since it’s becoming increasingly popular among divers.”
Based on her own love of movement and fitness, Celina always knew she wanted to pursue a career in the health industry. She briefly considered becoming a physiotherapist, but ultimately decided to enroll in Health Sciences & Technology, a fairly new interdisciplinary study course at the Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich. After she successfully completed her Bachelor’s degree, Celina spent the first year of her Master’s in Australia. “It seemed like the natural choice because my aunt, uncle and cousins live in Perth,” she says. “Ultimately, I ended up in Sydney instead, but at least I got to spend the holidays with my family down under.” Celina first completed an internship as an exercise physiologist at a rehab clinic and then tackled a research internship at the University of Sydney. “I have such great memories of the time I spent in Australia, and I definitely look back on it as the most formative experience of my life,” Celina says.
Back in Switzerland, she successfully finished up the Master’s program and simultaneously pursued a teaching diploma in sports at ETH. Although, as she admits, she never seriously considered a career as a teacher. “There was a communal side to the program, the opportunity to connect with peers, that I found very enriching.” Shortly after college, Celina started her career in clinical affairs at Zimmer Biomet, where she worked in the clinical operations divisions. Celina says she had an excellent start at the company and gained valuable first insights into the clinical field. But, after four years, she felt the pull toward a smaller company where she could make a more direct impact. “I had actually heard about Bonebridge early on, and I followed their development over the years before I applied for an open position,” she says. “Now, I love working in this small team and I get to take on a lot of responsibilities for diverse tasks and projects. I plan clinical studies, write technical documentations, do literature research, and analyze study data, to name just a few things.”
Not only has Celina quickly become an integral member of our small team – she also happens to be our exclusive internal supplier for Swiss-made premium spirits: Her boyfriend Beni is a trained winemaker and runs a distillery together with his friend Samuel. As the “Draft Brothers”, they create unique gins and fruit brandies at the historic Zeughaus Areal in Winterthur. “It’s fascinating to watch these two very different worlds evolve,” Celina says. “At Bonebridge, I get to make a direct contribution to where we’re going; with the Draft Brothers, I have a front-row view of the challenges and rewards of building a small business.”
And, while Celina may not be an active member of her local athletics club LV Winterthur anymore, she still tries to contribute to its success as much as she can. “As a student, I served as a girl’s coach for many years. Now, I’m a board member and am responsible for all sponsoring activities,” she says. “The club has been an important part of my life for such a long time, and it’s great to be able to give something back.”