Why did you choose your specific health professional career?
I choose Business Administration as a path to want to become a CEO for one of the Indian Health Service hospitals. My mom was an administrator. She worked her way up from supply all the way up to administrator officer for the Rosebud Service Unit in Rosebud, South Dakota.
What experiences did you have to make sure this profession was right for you?
My first twelve years in the federal government with Indian Health Service was within finance. I was an accounting technician after graduating from college. I was promoted to an accountant, and then promoted to supervisor operating accountant, and on to budgeting officer or finance officer. So my path was mainly in finance, but it exposed me to service units doing audits and so forth.
Describe any obstacles or barriers to success that you encountered along your health professional career path and how did you overcome them?
The only obstacles I encountered were just getting my grasp on bureaucratic obstacles such as learning how to work within a system, and knowing the rules and regulations, of course there’s a lot in the government. Once you mastered that, the sky’s the limit, you can do anything you want, but you’ve got to have determination and effort.
What do you do in your current job?
Right now, I’m with Phoenix Indian Medical Center (PIMC) and I’m their Chief of Housekeeping. We are the backbone of the infection control for the hospital.
What advice do you have for American Indian/Alaska Native students who are interested in health careers?
Just have the will to succeed. You got to put forth the effort to succeed.