Student Spotlight: J. Hussain

Graduation Year: June 2018
Major: Health Services and Administration

How did you hear about the RISE program and what did you hope to get out of it?

I heard about the Rise program from a summer Work Ready program I did back senior year of high school. The Rise program really got me in the habit of saving little by little at the end of every month and now I have a better understanding of how a little bit of saving can go a long way. I feel that with graduation approaching, I am better equipped with my knowledge of saving for when I enter the workforce.

What is your major and why did you choose to study this?

I chose to study health administration because I wanted to learn more about what goes on behind the scenes in a hospital. I originally started off minoring in health admin however I decided to major after having really enjoyed my courses and learning a lot from my health admin professors.

What is a recent achievement that you’re proud of (personal or academic)? As I am approaching graduation, I am proud of the relationships I’ve formed in college. I have learned so much and grown as a person. I’m definitely proud of the fact that I figured out what I really wanted to do in my life. I came in as a very confused student switching back and forth between majors.

Drexel has a co-op program for students and I got to do my program at Penn Brain Tumor Center. We work with glioblastoma patients. It’s the most malignant and fastest growing tumor. Patients who have this diagnosis usually don’t live long. I work with Penn’s clinical trial to screen patients and get them enrolled. Our end goal is to find a cure. At first, the co-op was intimidating I didn’t know if I would be good. Once I found that I really liked the work and knew I was good it made me feel confident…I didn’t know I could be good at this. I’ve always had self-confidence issues. I’ve just been really shy. I’m proud that I’ve become more confident. Having a mentors has helped a lot, some of my coworkers, the nurses, our Director, just women in nursing and in the healthcare field noticed my potential more than I did. Having that encouragement and advice is definitely how I find that about myself.

What goals are you currently pursuing (personal or academic)?

I have taken my prerequisites for Physician Assistant school and I hope to apply after my gap year. I’m taking this year off to continue working at building relationships with nurses and providers. At Drexel I was very quiet and I didn’t know when to speak up or ask questions. I was interested in this from the beginning but I was definitely a little more shy and quiet. Now that I’ve found my voice and my interest in this field, I’m definitely feeling more confident and ready to build my network.

Any advice for other students?

Going into college…it’s never too late to figure out what you want to do. I always thought I was only going to be working in the clinical aspect of healthcare but there is a lot more that the healthcare field provides.  I didn’t know that until I started taking administration classes, and learning more about the management that ensures that patients get the quality care they deserve. It’s never too late to figure out what you want to do, it’s not a bad thing to explore other areas, other majors or courses. I ended up blending health admin with my PA classes and now I’m graduating with experience in both.