The Value of Studying Abroad

Migrating to America from the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere has taught me one valuable life lesson: America is truly the land of opportunity. My family arrived with nothing of monetary value and yet with a little hard work, we achieved a comfortable standard of living. I was raised in a single parent home, my mother being the sole provider for three children. On several occasions, I have watched her work three full-time shifts in a twenty-four hour period. The pay was mediocre but typical for a woman without an education.

The value of getting an education was instilled upon my heart at a very early age. Hence, I was motivated to excel in every subject all throughout elementary and secondary school and later graduate high school with honors. One of the proudest accomplishments of my life was shattering the stereotypes plaguing against immigrants and becoming the first in my family to attend and graduate college.

My keen interest in helping others convinced me to pursue a healthcare career.

Like many students, I really wanted to go into the healthcare field, but I was unsure of what exactly it was that I wanted to do. It did not become clear to me until my sophomore year at Howard University. My class schedule made it possible for me to dedicate two days a week to an internship position at the Family Health and Birth Center.  I started volunteering with the aim of giving back to the community and unbeknownst to me, this experience would have a huge impact in my career path.

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It was there I had the opportunity to befriend a Physician Assistant student from George Washington University who mentored me in making the most of my undergraduate studies by studying abroad. After researching a multitude of study abroad programs, I immediately knew that SIT India: Health and Human Rights would best nurture my interest in healthcare.

The 16 week program was eye opening, disturbing and very different than what I had grown accustomed to in America. There were times when it was easier to justify staying in my comfort zone, and letting someone else worry about the big issues. Seeing India’s healthcare system and not just reading it in the news was difficult for me but that moment proved to be the most important part of growing and learning. I grew as a professional by combining my academic experience with a deepened personal understanding of international affairs. Studying abroad definitely enriched my aspiration to continue public service and eventually obtain a Healthcare Administration degree in order to have a level of influence over health policy decisions. My career trajectory had never been so linear. A year later, I graduated from Howard University and landed my dream job as a Health Services Manager at Higher Horizons Head Start and Early Head Start Program.

Unfortunately, the dream did not last long. One month short of my 2 year work anniversary, I turned in my resignation letter, packed my 2003 Honda Civic and moved back home to Florida. I felt awfully isolated since only a few people in the world fully understood why I walked away from a well paying job, at an amazing organization, making an incredible impact in the surrounding community. I spent most of that year evaluating why I was unhappy and even exploring career options outside of the healthcare field. I found the missing piece to my life puzzle in the most unlikely place: The Transportation Security Administration (TSA).

My job at the TSA has offered me one big component that my healthcare career could not offer: people. In all, Transportation Security Officers at high-volume airports such as Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International routinely screen 29.2 million passengers a year, over 2 million each month, and nearly 900 each working hour. Perhaps what really excites me about going to work is the opportunity each day brings to develop and hone my people skills on the job— the ability to share excitement with a soon-to-be bride as she places her wedding dress on the conveyor belt to be screened and immediately afterwards expressing heartfelt sympathetic words to a daughter as she places her mother’s cremation urn in a bin to be screened. I realized that the more I improved my ability to interact with my team members and the traveling public, the quicker I learned, the more efficient I became at my job and the happier I was. Over the past two years, I’ve met many fantastic people in my effort to transition away from my career in healthcare, and they are the driving force behind my return to the field. Hearing supportive words from my inspiring coworkers and supervisors have motivated me more than the prospect of earning more money.

In the decades to come, it is possible that nearly half of U.S. jobs may become obsolete due to automation. Technology will continue to transform the face of many industries, healthcare included. The year 2020 promises to end the paper-and-clipboard era and mark the beginning of telemedicine and video conferenced doctor visits. I extend my gratitude to the prestigious University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine for allowing me the opportunity to be part of such a revolutionary reform period in the healthcare industry by opening the doors to a world of endless possibilities in the field of Health Informatics. It is my hope that in sharing my experience I can in turn empower other individuals who may have been outcast by society to reach their most complete potential through education.

Finally, the question remains: What are your career goals once you obtain a Masters of Science degree in Health Informatics? If you ask me right now, I don’t know what specific position I want, but I know I want to continue be more human as David J. Breming of Harvard suggests. I want to continue developing effective communication skills, building rapport and relating to all kinds of people. Although artificially intelligent software is being built that can recognize emotions in people’s faces and voices, computers are nowhere near being able to compete with humans on the ability to really understand and connect with another human being. I believe that possessing such skills are at the heart of the human advantage over machines and can enable a person to be successful in working with a wide range of individuals at varying levels of any organization.