>
Department of Health Policy and Administration After completing a doctor of pharmacy degree at Washington State University, Minh began a pharmaceutical internship at Yakima Neighborhood Health Services in Yakima, Washington. “I returned to school to get an M.H.A degree because I want to enhance my knowledge and skills in the business of health to make a difference in the lives of my patients,” she said. Minh said, specifically, her career goals are to gain exposure in management in the field of pharmacy, to develop leadership skills, and to make a difference in the lives of others as a health care provider. “I believe this degree will help me achieve these goals by further facilitating my career development in our dynamic health care system,” she said.
> Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Online program...on campus? The online M.H.A. program includes a two-week visit to the University Park campus, during which students get to meet each other and faculty members in person and participate in hands-on learning activities.
Meredith and Daniel Mills had been working in corporate job roles in Philadelphia for five years—he with a Fortune 200 insurance company and she with an S&P 500 clothing retailer—when they began to feel unfulfilled by what they were doing with their lives. “We both come from families that are very giving and empathetic, and we wanted to feel we were giving back through our day-to-day work,” said Daniel. They had just begun interviewing for new positions when Meredith’s grandmother passed away. She and Meredith’s grandfather— one-time governor of Pennsylvania—had owned and worked in businesses in the health care industry for the past 50 years. “At my grandmother’s funeral, my grandfather asked me when I would join the family business,” said Meredith. “He often jokes about this with the grandchildren, because he really wants to see the business passed to the next generation. Usually we smile and laugh things off, but this time the question spoke to me. I knew that this time, the question could really create a new path for me.”
Online M.H.A. students listen to a lecture during their two-week visit to the University Park campus in July.
14 | Health and Human Development
> Waleed Al Habeeb Riyadh, Saudi Arabia