UCLA Journal of Radiation Oncology APRIL 2022 - Flipbook - Page 17
UCLA RADIATION ONCOLOGY JOURNAL
Tell me a bit about your background and
what brought you here.
me in more administrative/managerial float
roles. I was in an Education Coordinator
Administrative Assistant role that introduced
me to Graduate Medical Education. I worked
in many roles on the float team, but my
experiences with Graduate Medical Education
left an impact I would later come back to.
While at UT-MD Anderson, I had the pleasure
to work in the Department of Infectious
Diseases, Infection Control and Employee
Health. I had the opportunity to work on
awesome committees, learn more about GME
and so much more.
L: I was born and raised in Shreveport,
Louisiana (former capital of Louisiana, fun
fact). I obtained my B.S. in Kinesiology from
the University of North Texas. With obtaining
this degree, my plan was to become a Physical
and Occupational Therapist. For the first
few months after graduating, I volunteered
at a Physical Therapy Clinic while working
at the University of Texas Southwestern. In
this time, I realized that I was more drawn
toward administration and leadership versus
the hands-on approach to patient care. I
decided to obtain my MHA with a focus
in Entrepreneurship and Leadership in
Healthcare Administration from Oklahoma
State University. Upon graduating, the
pandemic hit! I had a lot of time to reflect and
meditate. So here I am, on a journey outside
my comfort zone and exploring new terrain in
Sunny California.
I’ve always aimed to be the best, while working
for the best. So here I am as the Residency
Coordinator at one of the best hospitals in the
nation sharing my knowledge and experiences
to aid in producing the best Radiation
Oncologists.
You have a background in professional
pageants. How did this experience inform
who you are and prepare you for the career
you have?
You came to UCLA from MD Anderson. What
has been your trajectory and experience in
medicine? How did you become a Residency
Coordinator?
L: Professional pageants shaped me into the
passionate, goal driven, adaptable person I
am today. Pageants were a place where I could
telepath into a world free of limitations and
dominate my every fear! I had a great team
composed of voice, fitness and interview
coaches that prepared me for competition—
physically and mentally.
L: Since childhood, I knew that I wanted to
work in medicine/healthcare because most
of my childhood was spent in hospitals from
my own health issues to family health issues.
My village nurtured that vision and placed me
in a summer program in Shreveport called
“A-HEC.” This pipeline program introduced
me to different professions in healthcare
and reassured me that healthcare was the
profession for me.
For the ten years I competed in pageants, I
would be the only person of color in many of
the local pageants. There were many times
where I wanted to compete, but my village
wouldn’t allow it because of the known local
pageant history and other inequities. While I
had no idea when I accepted my current role
that I would be on the EDI Committee, I’m
appreciative of the opportunity to be a part of
conversations that impact the community.
My first job in healthcare was working at
University of Texas-Southwestern Medical
Center as a Float Clinical Staff Assistant
Coordinator. I quickly advanced in this role
and began to train incoming Clinical Staff
Members across UTSW on standard operations
and activities. My management team saw
how I excelled in this role and began to place
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