July 22, 2013

The Health Services Administration Department held their first annual alumni and recent graduates networking event on June 13 in the Friends Center on Cherry Street in Philadelphia. Alumni from all over the country and currently graduating seniors were in attendance. There was an hour reserved for networking followed by some words from Department Chair Kristine Mulhorn, PhD, and Drexel HSAD alumna Diana Weber.

“As we think about this whole career development process, we all need mentors. And you, as graduates and alumni, are the new mentors,” Mulhorn said.

Mulhorn introduced Weber, who took the stage to speak about how she arrived at her current career as the corporate director of financial applications in the Kennedy Health System. Weber started her undergraduate education as a “traditional student” straight out of high school. She realized that the path down which she was headed was not for her, and so she left school after two years to build her career in health information technology. One day, when she was in a meeting with colleagues she realized that she was the only one in the room without a college degree. “I couldn’t just rely on experience anymore,” she said. “I knew that going back to school was the only way that I could continue growing and moving forward.” She was 35 at the time.