Melissa always knew she was destined for a career in healthcare.  After discovering nursing wasn’t the right path for her, she changed her undergrad degree and spent her early career in hospital executive support roles.  In 2019, Melissa lost her father and went through a difficult divorce that left her a single parent.  While she loved her job at the local hospital, those changes forced her to realize she needed more from her career.  She decided to seek and eventually accept a promotion as the Executive Assistant to the Chief Nurse at HCA Healthcare. 

Melissa’s new boss saw something in her, and strongly encouraged her to consider a career in hospital executive leadership.  After mulling over that conversation, Melissa decided to take the first step and obtain her Master of Healthcare Administration from WGU.  It’s thanks to accelerating her program, taking advantage of her company’s tuition reimbursement, and a wonderful colleague nudging her to apply for the ASIST Scholarship that Melissa will graduate 10 months early and nearly debt-free.