Hometown: Kingsland, Ga.
Bachelor’s of health science, concentration in health administration, 2007
Master’s of health services administration, 2010
The Doors of Opportunity
by Erik Reid
I take great pride in sharing my Armstrong experience when asked. As a two-time alumnus, obtaining both my bachelor’s and master’s degrees in health administration, I am now beginning to see the many doors of opportunity Armstrong has created for me.
During my undergraduate years, I was able to serve in several leadership roles, including four years with the Student Government Association (SGA) and four years of committee work leading several improvement initiatives. Even though my path took me down a road of building a strong relationship with my college community, I never stopped dreaming of making an impact on the healthcare world.
In fact, I would often take concepts learned in my health administration classes and apply them to my university leadership roles. Those who worked closely with me on large university projects would often hear me say, “Healthcare quality is difficult to measure and so too is measuring student success. Although it’s hard to find indicators to track progress, it is something that must be done in order to improve services.”
I used this same philosophy to spearhead a campaign for Armstrong’s SGA presidential seat. I was elected by my peers in 2006 to serve as their student body president. I was responsible for guiding the student senate to create and accomplish action plans, which were geared toward the enhancement of student life.
Through my success at my home institution, I was chosen to work on the state level with the Board of Regents to help improve the advisement process within the University System of Georgia. This interaction with students, faculty, and state legislators has given me an understanding of success through teamwork, as well as an excellent opportunity to fill my desire to make a difference in the lives of other people.
After completing my bachelor’s degree in the fall of 2007, I decided to pursue my master’s in health services administration. I was presented with an opportunity to continue my work in student development as an Armstrong graduate student assistant for the office of student union and activities, where I was able to gain valuable experience in project management, service evaluation, and the fine tuning of my skill set for program development, including the creation of the Armstrong Volunteer Fair.
I graduated for the second time in 2010, and through the relationships built at Armstrong, I was selected for a newly designed professional development program with Emory Healthcare as a process improvement analyst. Essentially, I get to come to work everyday and know that through my efforts, I am making an impact on the lives of patients.
My Armstrong experience not only developed my leadership abilities and advanced my career, but it taught me the importance of focusing on the journey and the people you meet – not just on the destination.