Welcome  to  Beyond  the  Nest  University  of Minnesota,  Rochester's  Alumni  podcast. I'm  Marco  Lands  U, MR.  Director  of  Alumni  and  Development Relationships  Beyond  the  Nest  highlights  Raptor  alumni, their  work  and  lessons  learned  along  the  way. In  this  episode,  UMR  Director  of  Career  Development and  Community  Engagement, Jenny  Casper,  sits  down  with  2014  alumni,  Nicole  Vang. Currently,  Nicole  works  at Medtronic  as  a  clinical  safety  coordinator. And  brings  a  wealth  of  experience from  teaching  English  in South  Korea  to  interning  in  the  Obama  White  House. Hi  Nicole.  I'm  really  looking forward  to  talking  with  you  today. Thanks  so  much  for  participating  in the  UMR  Beyond  the  Nest  Podcast  series. I  thought  we  could  start  by having  you  share  a  bit  about  yourself. My  name  is  Phil  Luna  and  Nicole  Bang. I  graduated  back  in  2014. I  currently  work  at  Metronic  and  I  work as  a  clinical  safety  coordinator. And  what  I  do  at  work  is  make  sure  that  all  of our  clinical  trials  are  following  FE  regulations. And  I  make  sure  that  we  are following  all  of  our  safety  practice  protocols. All  of  our  documents  are  up  to  date. They're  all  approved  in  the  correct  order. And  I've  managed  the  data  for  about  12  studies. But  overall  at  Metronic, we  have  over  500  studies  that  are  taking  place. I  just  handle  12, but  we  have  a  pretty  big  team and  other  folks  that  work  with  in  the  Candle. Couple  other  studies.  It's  a  really  cool  gig. I  get  to  know  all  the  new  studies  that  are  taking  place. All  the  new  therapies  are  new  devices  that  are  being developed  to  help  better  folks  lives  in  health  care. I  absolutely  enjoy. That's  great  to  hear.  I  was  thinking  as you  were  sharing  about  the  technology  and there's  one  thing  this  year  has  taught  us technology  is  evolving  so  rapidly. I  have  to  ask,  given  that  you shared  all  of  those  studies,  500  and  some. Is  there  an  innovative  technology or  even  a  study  that  you've  been  a  part  of analyzing  that  has  a  particular  product  attached to  it  or  an  innovation  that  you think  is  pretty  unique  or  exciting. I  currently  work  on  one  right  now. There  are  some  folks  who  live  by  themselves  and  they might  not  be  able  to  get  to  the  phone right  away  or,  or  whatever. They  go  to  a  clinic  or  one  of our  trials  and  we  implant  small  chip into  their  shoulder  and  it  actually  helps  to collect  the  data  of  your  heart and  your  heart  rate  and  everything. And  let's  just  say  that  you  went in  and  you  have  chronic  heart  failure and  you  had  a  history  of  it. What  it  does  is  it  tracks  your  heart  rhythm. And  if  there's  any  spikes  or  anything that  seems  like  it's  abnormal, it  sends  your  information  directly  to your  primary  care  provider to  let  them  know  and  notify  them. And  you  don't  even  have  to  make an  appointment  or  call  or  anything, you  just  send  the  information. And  then  your  Dr.  gets  to  view  it  from  the  clinic. And  then  they'll  call  you and  set  up  an  appointment  or  something  like  that. If  they  see  that  abnormal and  they  feel  like  you  need  to  come  in  to have  KG  done  or  if  you  need  to  do  a  checkup  or  something. I  think  that's  a  super  unique  tool  that we're  in  the  al  trial  phase  right  now. It's  hard  to  even  believe  and hard  to  fathom  what  the  future  will bring  in  medicine  and technologies  related  to  health  care  as  well. I  know  your  professional  journey has  altered  along  the  way. You've  done  some  different  things, talked  about  doing  some  different  things. I  remember  at  one  point  you were  thinking  osteopathic  school. At  one  point  you  were  talking  about taking  the  else  at  to  pursue  law. How  have  your  plans  shifted  along the  way  and  led  you  to  where  you  are  today? They  always  ask  the  question  like, oh,  what  do  you  want  to  be  when  you  grow  up? I  honestly  think  I'm  still  trying  to  figure  that  out. As  you  mentioned,  like  I  was  looking  at  osteopathic, was  looking  at  law  school,  been  all  over  the  place. I  know  that  health  care  is  where  I  want  to  be. I  think  that  everything  that  I  have  done  so far  has  really  brought  me  to  try. First  off,  I  graduated  at  Mar  and  I  went  to work  as  a  medical  scribe  for about  a  year  after  I  graduated. And  then  I  saw  that  the  Dr.  lifestyle  wasn't  fit  for  me. I'm  a  very  family  oriented person  and  I  like  to  make  sure  I attend  all  my  family  work  days  and  that  kind  of  stuff. When  I  was  working  as  a  medical  scribe, I  saw  that  the  Dr. I  worked  with,  he  had  three  little  girls and  it  wasn't  his  fault  or  anything. Patients  come  in  late  and  he  still wants  to  make  sure  he  can  see  them. And  then  like  his  time  schedule  gets pushed  back  and  then  end  up  being  a little  bit  fully  late  to his  daughter's  dance  recitals  or  whatever. And  that's  not  something  I  want  to  miss. I  want  to  be  there  for the  milestones  of  my  kids  and  stuff. I  decided  against  medical  school and  then  I  still  want  to  be  in  health  care. Then  I  went  and  pursued  my  master's  in health  care  administration  because my  family  is  very  business  oriented, so  we  have  a  lot  of  small  businesses  and the  parents  have  started  and  I  was  like,  well, business  is  in  my  genes  and  if  I  work  in  health  care, I  can  work  on  the  business  side  and then  the  back  end  and  everything. And  that's  why  I  got  my  Master's  in  health  care. While  I  was  doing  my  Masters, I  still  wanted  to  travel  and  I  was  like,  oh, I  don't  really  know  what  I  even  going  to  do  after  I get  there  with  my  Masters  then  I Korea.  And  I  taught  English  in  Korea, and  then  I  studied  their  health  care  there. And  after  that,  I  came  back  and  then  I  was  like,  okay, well  I  want  to  be  in  healthcare, but  I  want  to  be  in  a  world  of  health  care  where  I get  to  travel  to  different  areas  and  everything. And  then  I  said,  why  not  apply  for  a  job  in  Metronic? Because  it's  a  global  company. I  just  got  really  lucky  and  I  applied  for a  job  there  and  then  I  got  hired  on. I  didn't  even  know  that  the  team  that  I  was applying  for  was  actually  a  global  team. But  then  I  found  out  that  we  have  a  global  team. We  have  a  team  in  Japan, a  team  in  China, a  team  in  Europe. And  then  we  have  a  team  here  in  the  US. And  it's  just  really  cool  because  if  I ever  wanted  to  do  a  six  month  stint, our  Japan  team,  I  could  easily talk  to  my  manager  and  you  could  totally  with  that. And  then  I  would  get  to  go  to Japan  and  work  with  our  Japan  team. Or  if  I  wanted  to  go  to  China, then  I  could  go  work  with  our  China  team. And  that's  kind  of  like  where  I  am  now. And  it  just  kind  of  like  brought  me  here. I  never  knew  I  was  actually  going  to  go into  like  medical  device where  I  was  going  to  be  right  now. But  I  think  that  everything  that  I  have done  is  brought  me  to  where  I  am  now. I  think  it  is  definitely  more  than  luck that  has  gotten  you  to  where  you  are  today. So  many  great  skills  and experiences  that  you  bring  to  the  table. I  recall  too  that  you  had  spent a  little  time  with  Blue  Cross  Blue  Shield?  Oh,  yes. While  I  was  working  as  a  medical  scribe. I  got  the  part  time  gig  at  Blue  Cross  and  Blue  Shield, still  wasn't  really  sure  where  I  wanted  to  be, and  I  just  had  a  couple  of  contact  people who  were  working  on  Blue  Cross  and  Blue  Shield. So  then  I  worked  there  for  a  little  bit  and  I worked  in  the  third  party  liabilities. I  got  to  learn  a  lot  about how  health  insurance  work  and who  covers  what  third  party  liability. When  you  have  car  insurance, like  if  you  can  into  a  car  accident, does  your  health  insurance  cover your  medical  costs  or  does the  car  insurance  cover  the  medical  costs? And  then  if  it's  the  car  insurance, how  much  does  the  car  insurance  cover before  your  health  care  insurance? It  gets  pulled  in  I  was working  there  for  a  while  like  that  and then  cost  was  just  going  through  a  really  big  change. I  didn't  really  enjoy the  new  structure  that  was  going  on  there. I  didn't  stick  with  my  job  there, but  my  supervisor  who  I was  working  under  is  being  moved  to a  new  department  and she  wasn't  able  to  bring  along  a  lot  of  us  with  her. And  I  like  All  right,  well, I  think  I  need  to  try  something  new,  I  should  say. I  worked  there  before  I  first  my  Master's. I  quit  there  and  then  I  was  like,  all  right, well  maybe  I  should  go  and  get  my  Master's  degree  now, since  I'm  not  really  sure  what  I  want  to. But  I  want  to  say  it's  a  sweet  place  to  work  at. They  have  a  beautiful  office  building. The  benefits,  they  are  really great  and  everybody  who  works  there  is  really, I  think  about  Blue  Cross, Blue  Shield  and  Medtronic. You  spent  some  time  with  some  of the  leading  healthcare  employers in  the  state  of  Minnesota. I'm  curious,  how  does an  organization's  culture  or values  or  some  of  the  things  you've  already  touched  on, how  do  they  really  impact  your  choice to  be  a  part  of  their  team? I'm  a  very  big  people  person  and  I'm  very  outgoing. And  every  time  when  I  am interviewing  for  a  company  to  work  for, one  of  the  questions  I  always  asking  is, what's  your  work  culture  like and  what's  your  management  style  like? Because  I'm  the  type  of  person  who  want  to get  along  with  everybody  on my  team  and  I'm  very  interested  in  that. And  I'm  also  interested  in  a  company  that encourages  their  employees  to  move  up  and  manage. They  provide  you  those  opportunities  for leadership  development  or  management  development. Or  even  if  you're  interested in  pursuing  another  degree  company, it  will  support  that  when  I  first  worked  for  Blue  Cross, they  had  such  a  welcoming  presence. As  soon  as  I  walked  in  there, their  security  person  knew  me. Because  if  they  had  already  had  a  profile  on me  when  I  walked  in  and  they're  kind  of  like,  oh, we  know  that  you  are  a  new  hire  for  this  department, do  you  have  any  questions,  blah,  blah,  blah,  blah. So  really  welcoming.  I  also  on  the  type  of leaders  who  want  to  bring  me  along  for  the  right, I  like  those  type  of  managers  who  are always  looking  out  for the  people  who  are  working  under  them. My  current  manager  is  awesome. She's  always  looking  for  opportunities  for  me. She's  always  putting  my  name  in  for new  skills  or  new  projects that  she  believes  that  I  would  excel  in. Those  are  kind  of  the  things  I  look for  when  I'm  applying  for  a  company. And  I  want  to  ask  a  little  bit  more  about  that. So  it  sounds  like  you  have  this  amazing supervisor  in  your  current  role. What  are  the  experiences  or the  things  you're  learning  from  her  that  you think  you  will  take  with  you  as  maybe you're  in  a  future  role  similar  to  hers, or  leading  teams  in  the  future. One  of  the  big  things  with  her, she  understands  that  in life  you  really  need  to  be  able  to balance  work  life  and your  family  or  all  that  kind  of  stuff. I  think  one  thing  I  really  like  about  that  is  she's very  understanding  if  randomly  throughout  the  day, if  my  grandpa  had  a  doctor's  appointment and  my  mom  was  supposed  to  take  my  grandpa, but  then  maybe  something  happened  and my  mom's  small  business  has taken  my  mom  a  little  bit  longer  and my  mom  can't  take  my  grandpa  anymore  to  the  doctors. I  can  easily  just  message  to  my  boss  and  just  be  like, hey,  I'm  going  to  step  out  for  an  hour. I  have  to  take  my  grandpa  to the  doctors  and  I'll  be  back. And  she's  very  understanding  of  that. That's  one  of  the  biggest  things because  my  grandparents  are  old now  and  my  siblings  are  like  we're  all  busy. But  I  kind  of  have  the  most  flexible  job  where  my  boss  is understanding  of  our  personal  situations and  she's  very  understanding  of  that. That's  one  thing  I  would  really  like to  carry  on  from  her  is that  understanding  and  like  empathizing with  the  people  that  I  manage  in  the  future, understanding  of  their  family  situations or  of  any  personal  situations  that  come  up. I  also  want  to  take  from her  the  fact  that  she's  really  good at  just  checking  in  to  make sure  that  I'm  not  overwhelmed  with  work, just  checking  in  to  see  how  my  life  is  or if  there's  any  issues  going  on  or  that  kind  of  stuff. Yeah,  it  does  seem  like  those  skills will  be  so  important  the  more we  blend  personal  and  professional  life  together. Especially  now  in  the  virtual  world. And  yeah,  so  no, it's  really  great  to  hear  what  you  shared. It'll  be  exciting  to  see  your  future  growth  too and  how  you're  implementing  some  of the  things  you're  learning  as  well. But  I  recall  you'd  mentioned  you  pursued  the  Masters  in Healthcare  Administration  and  I  think that  was  from  Demine  University. Can  you  share  a  little  bit  about  what  are  some  of the  key  takeaways  from that  experience  And  how  it's  impacted, or  maybe  perhaps  will  in  the  future, impact  your  current  direction  at  Demin  University. I  don't  know  if  the  structure  has changed  a  little  bit  because  I  know  they  have a  new  president  come  in  for  our  program. When  I  graduated,  when  I  was  there, it  was  very  based  on strategic  thinking  and  implementing process  changes  and  whatnot. I  think  having  that  focus  on my  master's  degree  was  really  important  because health  care  is  an  industry  that  is constantly  evolving  and  constantly  changing. And  so  we  always  need  to  be  ready  to  adapt  to those  changes  and  to  change  our  processes, to  be  able  to  handle all  the  new  technology  changes or  all  the  new  medical  advances  and  whatnot. I  think  that's  one  really  big  thing  because one  thing  that  I'm  constantly  doing  when  I'm working  on  metronic  is  I'm  constantly looking  to  see  what's  something  we  can  get. In  the  lean  world,  it's  kind of  like  what  is  something  that's  considered waste  takes  up  more  time than  something  that's  affected  for  us. I'm  constantly  looking  at  ways  to improve  how  we  handle  our  data  or how  we  have  to  manipulate our  data  for  entering  it  into  the  system  and  whatnot. Or  like  constantly  looking  at process  improvements  for  when  we have  to  approve  documents or  having  to  develop  a  new  study. Looking  at  the  start  up  phase  and  figuring  out  what was  the  start  up  phase  for  Apollo  like, was  it  hard  and  who  was  complicated? What  can  we  learn  from  that  to  make  sure that  this  new  study  that  we're  going  to  be  working on  can  be  better  when  we're  doing  the  start  up  phase  or when  we're  doing  the  closed  phase  and  that  kind  of  stuff. That's  one  really  big  thing  that  I gained  from  my  master's  degree  was  looking  at process  improvement as beyond  the  nest  grows. We  want  to  hear  from  you,  check the  show  notes  for  how  to  connect  and share  your  UMR  journey  or  E  mail  beyond  the  nest  at  Um. Now,  let's  get  back  to  Nicole  as she  talks  about  what  brought  her  to  UMR advice  for  current  students  and  understanding the  breadth  of  opportunities  available  in  healthcare. Sounds  like  a  great  learning  experience. I  have  to  also  ask  a  little  bit  about  UR and  switching  gears  to  more  of your  undergrad  learning  experience. I  was  just  hoping  to  hear  a  little  bit  more about  why  you  chose  UM  R  in  the  first  place. I  was  going  to  a  chiropractor Dr.  here,  kind  of  in  the  cities. And  I  met  a  girl  named Missy  and  she  actually  was  a  student  at  UMR. While  I  was  talking,  getting treatment  done  on  my  chiropractor  appointment, she  was  chatting  because  I  had  been  a senior  and  then  was  kind  of  chatting  about, oh,  like  what  is  it  that  you  want  to  do? Or  like  I  was  coming, oh,  I'm  looking  at  going  to  health  care. So  I  just  kind  of  figuring  out  where  I  want  to  go  and  if I  want  to  stay  in  the  state  of  Minnesota  or  not. And  then  she  was  you  should  check out  UMR,  that's  where  I'm  going. It's  like  not  too  far  from the  city  and  then  it's  going  to  be  far  enough  from your  parents  she  can  grow up  and  not  be  dependent  on  them. And  then  she  was  like,  and  we're  going  to  be like  right  next  to  me  a  clinic  and  who doesn't  want  to  work  near or  Mayo  Clinic  when  you  wanted  to  get  into health  care  because  it's  such an  amazing  health  care  facility and  they  do  a  work  there. So  I  was  like,  all  right,  A  couple  of  days  later, I  made  an  appointment  with  UMR, came  toward  the  school, and  one  thing  I  really  liked about  it  was  the  fact  that  it was  not  a  traditional  college  experience  at, um,  most  of  our  classes  took place  at  like  that  little  mall,  that  downtown. And  I  was  kind  of  like,  this  is  so  cool. It  doesn't  feel  like  I'm  at  school, but  I'm  at  school  and  I  get  to see  all  these  cool  little  shops  that  are  around  here. I  like  the  fact  that  we  didn't have  a  traditional  cafeteria, and  I  like  the  fact  that the  school  setting  wasn't  traditional. And  I  felt  like  that  was  really  when  I  walked  on  campus. I  think  I  got  there  and  I  was  like, this  is  where  I  want  to  be  And  I've always  been  to  a  small  school. I  was  in  private  school all  the  way  through  high  school  and  everything  too. And  I  about  the  future  sort  of  person. And  I  knew  that  if  I  wanted  to pursue  a  doctor's  degree  or any  type  of  health  care  or career  that  I  needed  a  letter  recommendation  for, I  wanted  to  be  able  to  have that  connection  with  my  professors. That  was  another  thing.  And  I  just  kind  of  knew this  is  where  I  wanted  to  be  and  where  I  wanted  to  go. And  I  didn't  even  apply  for  any  other  schools. I  only  applied  to  Mar  for  college  because  I  was  like, this  is  exactly  where  I  want to  be  so  I'm  not  even  going  to  apply  for anywhere  else  and  I'm  going  to  pray  that  I  get  accepted year  then  I  got accepted  and  I  was  like,  all  right  this  is Sometimes  you  just  know.  I  think I  was  going  to  ask  a  little  bit  more  about  that. As  you  mentioned,  there's  male  clinic right  there  as  well  and  Rochester. There's  so  much  centered  around health  care  in  the  city  of  Rochester  as  well. What  experiences  did  you  partake  in  while  at  Mar  that you  think  were  helpful  to finding  your  way  to  where  you  are  now? And  that  couldn't  be  part  of  your  capstone or  not  part  of  your  capstone,  just  in  general. The  whole  time  when  I  was  there, I  volunteered  at  the  Ho, and  I  volunteered  at  the  Gift  of  Life  Transplant  Health. I  did  a  lot  of  administrative  work for  them  as  a  volunteer. And  I  always  at  the  back  of  my  mind, and  I'd  probably  try  to  fight  it, so  I  was  like,  I'm  going  to  MR. I  want  to  be  a  Dr.  And  everybody  who  was  going to  UMR  at  that  time,  that's  what  we  wanted  to  be. At  the  end  of  the  day,  we  all wanted  to  be  doctors,  nurses, or  we  wanted  to  be  some  type  of physician  or  whatever  in  the  medical  field. I  volunteered  at  those  places  because  I  wanted to  be  exposed  to  patients and  families  that  were  coming  to be  seen  at  mail  clinic  and  all  that  stuff. But  always  working  as  an  administrative  volunteer, It  was  kind  of  what  brought  me  back  to  where  I  am  now. I'm  not  immediately  working  in  the  hospital, but  then  here  I  am  working on  the  business  side  of  healthcare. I  think  that's  something  that  I  was always  destined  for  because  I  didn't volunteer  at  mail  or  where  I could  get  direct  patient  care  contact. But  then  I  was  volunteering  at these  organizations  that  were  helping most  family  members  that  were  going  to  be seen  at  Male  or  St. Mary's  or  that  kind  of  stuff. I  volunteered  at  those  places, met  really  awesome  people, and  I  still  keep  in  contact  with  my  managers  there. Actually,  I  was  checking  in to  see  how  they're  doing  the  math. I  couldn't  ask  for  anything  better. Rochester  itself  just  has  a  lot  of opportunities  for  you  to  volunteer. That's  kind  of  what  I  did.  Mostly  I  did. I  spent  a  lot  of  time  volunteering. I  also  worked  part  time  as  a  waitress  in  Rochester, and  I  met  a  lot  of  physicians  who  would  come  in. Me  at  the  restaurant  too  and  got  to experience  that  kind  of  interactions  with  them. To  sounds  like a  great  sounding  board  or  resource  together. Advice  from  I  actually  was  curious  from  your  perspective. What  advice  would  you  give for  R  student  who  might  be  a  bit apprehensive  about  having  a  mentor or  that  professional  networking  piece. Don't  be  afraid  to  ask a  professor  out  for  coffee so  you  can  get  to  know  them  more  personally. Or  don't  be  afraid  to  speak  to  a  professor. One  thing  about  MR.  Is  because  we  have  to  just ask  you  get  the  time  to  get  to  know  your  professors. Get  to  know  them  as  much  as  you  can because  you're  going  to  be asking  them  for  a  letter  of  recommendation. Or  you  want  to  have  these  people  in your  future  because  they  can  help  you. Your  connection,  come  back if  you  want  may  come  back  to  work  at  Mar. You  wanted  to  come  back  and  work  in  Rochester  in  general. Also  have  their  own  network  and  they're able  to  help  in  those  things. The  best  thing  I  can  say,  don't  be  afraid  to approach  a  professor  and  ask  them  to  be  a  mentor. The  worst  thing  they  can  say  is  I'm  busy. And  maybe  then  ask  them  if they  can  suggest  another  person. That's  great  advice.  I  was  thinking  a  little  about your  capstone  specifically  and  it  just really  stood  out  to  me  with  such  a  unique  experience. Do  you  want  to  talk  a  little  bit  about your  internship  in  Washington  DC? Yeah.  Oh  my  goodness. I  want  to  say  this was  like  one  of  the  big  turning  points  in my  professional  career  choices or  whatever  I  wanted  to  do. So  like  I  said,  I  went  to  UMR wanting  to  be  something  in  health  care. And  then  for  some  crazy  reason, I  applied  for  an  internship at  the  White  House  in  Washington,  DC. And  obviously,  I  have  a  rough  year  at  UMR. Going  into  my  sophomore  year  at  UMR  was  dealing  with some  family  and  then  I  was also  struggling  a  little  bit  in  my  classes. Who  doesn't  struggle  when  you're  taking general  chemistry,  organic  chemistry? I  was  taking  those  classes  and  they  just  struggling. And  I  was  like,  maybe  health  care  isn't  for  me, so  I  need  to  try  something  new. So  I  was  like,  all  right, I'm  just  looking  up  internships  on  the  Internet. And  then  came  across  the  White  House  internship. I  applied  for  the  White  House  internship and  I  entered  there  for  the  summer. I  guess  I  had  done  such  an  awesome  job  there. I  had  gotten  so  close  to  my  supervisors that  when  I  completed  my  summer  internship, they  asked  me  to  come  back  to  see  if  I could  come  back  and  continue  the  internship. And  then  I  came  back  to  Mar  and  I  reached  out to  my  advisor  then  and  I  said,  hey, I  know  that  I'm  going  to  be  entering into  my  senior  senior  year and  I'm  wondering  if  I  can  do an  internship  at  the  White  House  as  my  cops  known. And  the  really  cool  thing about  the  internship  that  I  entered at  the  White  House  was  that  they had  a  portfolio  for  health  care. Yeah,  they  had  a  portfolio  for community  service  and  portfolio for  higher  education  and immigration,  economics  and  business. Being  in  healthcare,  I  was  able  to  focus  my  Capstone  and my  internship  on  the  health  care  side of  the  internship  I  was  doing  at  the  White  House. And  so  then  my  Capstone  was  focused  on  bridging the  health  care  disparities  within Asian  American  communities  in  the  United  States. And  so  it  was  working  on  ways  that  we could  help  better  educate  Asian  communities  on why  health  insurance  is  important  or why  going  to  get  preventative  check  ups  are important  and  other  kind  of  work  because in  the  Asian  community  Western  medicine, it's  something  that  they don't  necessarily  trust  and  they  still  would rather  pursue  their  own  traditional  medicines and  their  own  traditional  health  care  ways. Now,  my  own  dad  won't  really  go  to the  doctors  to  get  his  routine  yearly  checkup or  something  because  he's  kind  of  like, well,  you  can't  trust  Western  medicine. We  can  only  trust  our  traditional  affable  medicines and  that  kind  of  stuff.  How  can  we  bridge  that? And  how  can  we  better  educate our  Asian  communities  about why  western  medicine  is  something  important? That's  what  I  did  for  my  capstone. And  it  was  awesome  because  at  that  time, President  Obama  was  launching his  Affordable  Care  Act  platform. I  got  to  work  with  the  Korean  community  and  got  to  work with  some  hire  folks who  were  in  the  US  Department  of  Health. What  we  did  was  we  recorded them  speaking  in  Korean  so  that  we  could release  like  a  mini  Google  series to  the  communities  so  that they  would  be  able  to  understand the  importance  of  health  insurance, health  care,  and  the  importance  of  going  into  their  like preventive  care  visits  and  that  kind  of  stuff  we  ended  up doing  like  a  mini  series  that  included  Korean  Chinese, Filipinos,  Long  Lao,  and  Vetameseopulations. It  was  really  cool  because  we  got  to reach  out  to  their  professional  TV  network, got  them  to  release  the  videos  of  the  information, and  then  we  go  to  get  them  published in  their  own  newspaper  outlets  and  that  kind  of  stuff. So  it  was  really  awesome  and  even  got some  Asian  celebrities  to  speak  up  about  it  too. And  so  it  was  a  really  cool  experience. Absolutely. And  you  bring  such  great  perspective  to  the  work. I  think  really  energizing  to  hear. I  know  we've  talked  for  a  little  bit  now. I  wanted  to  ask  you one  last  question  for the  session  this  afternoon  and  I  was  curious. What  didn't  you  know  when  you  were  a  student at  UMR  that  you  wish  you  would  have  known? Or  just  some  general  advice  you'd  like  to  share with  current  or  future  UMR  students. One  thing  I  would  really  say  is that  health  care  is  so  big, don't  have  such  a  narrow  vision  G, where  I  only  wanted  to  be  a  Dr. I  wish  that  when  I  was  an  undergrad  I  had explored  other  areas  of  health  care. There's  more  than  just  being  a  Dr. You  can  go  into  the  business  side  of  Holla, you  can  go  into  research, you  can  go  into  healthcare,  IT  security. There's  just  so  many  different  jobs that  are  in  healthcare  that  you  should  explore. And  don't  limit  yourself  to only  pursuing  that  one  career, going  to  be  a  Dr.  because  that's  what  I  did  and  I think  that's  what  really  had  me  struggling  at  the  end. Because  after  I  finished internship  with  the  White  House,  I  was  like,  what? There's  other  jobs  in  the  world  that  I  could  be doing  that  are  also  impacting  people's  lives. I  feel  like  when  I  was  going  to  UM, R  I  wanted  to  be  a  Dr. because  I  wanted  to  impact  people's  lives. I  wanted  to  make  their  lives healthier,  their  lives  better. And  there's  more  than  one  way  of  doing  that. You  have  to  understand  that  there  is. That.  Another  advice  I  would  like  to  give  is  don't ever  say  no  to  an  opportunity  that  comes  up  to  you. I  think  there  was  a  couple  of  times something  would  come  up  for  me  and  I  would  be  like, oh  no  because  I  want  to  be  a  Dr. but  you  never  know  where  those opportunities  are  going  to  take  you. And  so  if  an  opportunity  comes  up  and  it's  a completely  different  than  what it  is  that  you  are  pursuing, don't  say  no  to  it  because  you don't  know  where  it's  going  to  take. Really  great  advice.  Nicole,  thank  you  so  much. So  it  was  really  nice  connecting  with  you  today. Yes,  definitely.  I  love  you  Mark. Because  it's  such  a  unique  experience. It's  not  going  to  be  like  any  other  experience that  you've  ever  had  when  it  comes  to  college. Thank  you  for  listening  to  Beyond  the  Nest. As  UM  R  alumni  flourish. Stories  like  Nicole  showcase the  endless  possibilities  and avenues  of  opportunity  across  the  health  care  spectrum. Tune  in  next  time  for  a  lively  conversation  with UMR  senior  success  coach  Jen  Hook  in  2017. Alumni.  Nice.  Chandi.