A: Prior to MSHM, I was working as an Account Manager at a Benefits Administration Software Company.

Q: Where are you at now?

A: Currently, I am working as a Scrum Master at a Health Tech company. This is a fancy tech term for a Project Manager in Agile Methodologies – one of many approaches to project management.

Q: What are your biggest takeaways from the program?

Self-investment and keeping up with connections pay dividends. The volume of work was overwhelming, but the knowledge and structure gained outweighed the workload. The thought and care of April Grudi – the Program Leader and Director – blew me away. She genuinely cares about every one of her students and genuinely wants everyone to succeed. That is something I heard coming into the program, something I felt during the program, and something I continue to feel, even two years after graduation. That deep level of thought and care in an academic institution is hard to find, and as a result, I put my whole self into this program, even when I was running on empty at the end of the semester.

Q: Is your current job directly related to your college major?

A: Yes, as my college major was Health Systems Management, and working in Health Tech is working in systems.

Q: Do you feel our school adequately prepared you to find a job?

A: As I was already working when I started the program, I used the career development office to help me change companies and jobs in the middle of my program. The team in that office was great – I worked with Darby, who provided direct and constructive feedback on my resume and walked through behavioral interview questions with me in the IU standard interviewing format so that I felt comfortable during a live interview. While we were working together, a recruiter for my current company found my LinkedIn profile, and I felt so grateful that I was prepared to interview for that role at the right time.

Q: Did you attend any events with alumni as a student, and did you find them helpful?

A: No, because I lived and worked remotely in Chicago during the program.

Q: Did the curriculum prepare you for your next job?

A: The Business curriculum helped prepare me more than anything else, however, I still pull from Healthcare Economics and Policy when discussing the ever-changing landscape of Healthcare trends.

Q: What books are you reading right now?

A: I’m reading a few! Currently, I’m reading Fierce Self-Compassion, by Kristen Neff, and Norse Mythology, by Neil Gaiman. I have different mediums of reading – such as a Kindle for eBooks or Spotify for Audiobooks – which help me tackle a few books at a time when I’m feeling ambitious!

Q: What are some new industry trends we should prepare our students for during the program?

A: I think there will continue to be a push for customization and personalization in the Healthcare Market, so the Graduate Business courses I took that focused on Value Chain and Marketing will be crucial for the next group of students. Additionally, I am seeing a continued need for Organizational Development and Change Management.

Q: Did you feel supported by the program faculty and staff?

A: Yes, and I kept in touch with them after my program finished!

Q: What was your favorite part of the MSHM program?

A: I loved project-managing my own self-care throughout the program, and that this project counted towards our final grade in more than one class throughout the program. This piece still sticks with me, and I’m now so in tune with myself that I can now tell when I need to integrate more balance into my life. I also really enjoyed The Washington Campus course. Spending a week in Washington D.C. and experiencing first-hand what politicians and lobbyists do for their jobs was an exhilarating and fun classroom experience!

Q: Did you feel connected to your peers (in your cohort)?

A: Yes and no. I was in a few different cohorts – my Remote Beta Tester cohort consisted of one other person, and I felt very connected to her throughout the entirety, especially as we were both working professionals coming into and throughout the program, and we took every class together. My program spanned two years as I did the part-time-fully-remote program. While I connected with peers in classes and on group projects in two different graduating years, I felt a disconnect because my other peers were straight out of undergrad, and I had less in common with them. It didn’t detract from my experience, however, as I still learned a lot from them in the process.

Q: What is some advice you have for the next generation of MSHM students?

A: Take this program seriously – there’s meaning to the phrase, “You get out what you put in.” For the MSHM students who are like me and are working professionals, please don’t feel intimidated by your younger peers – you have a TON of experience to offer them, and they have an interesting and fresh perspective that you can learn from as well. The program itself is rigorous, but the work you do will help inform where you go next – not just in the immediate future, but in the long-term as well. The structure I received and the confidence I gained are well worth the time invested.

Connect with Mary on LinkedIn!