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Walking into a classroom with dozens of students studying in the might at first intimidate you, since everyone is wearing business attire, sitting up straight, and laser-focused on what the professor is saying. Sometimes you can hear a pin drop.  

But in sitting down and observing the class for a few minutes, you’d quickly become aware that though these students are very high caliber individuals, they are also super down-to-earth. They are game for a laugh, especially when their professor -- David Keele -- cracks a joke, or says something so straight-faced it elicits a chuckle from the class. The mood is light even when there is a discussion about when the deadline should be set to take the final exam for the Advanced Financial Management in Health Care class. 

There is a certain level of flexibility in this classroom when it comes to discussing deadlines and due dates, since most of these students have full-time jobs as well. And they are prominent positions in the health care industry, at that. 

“I work remotely for Stanford Health Care,” says one of the ����ɫ�� MSHCA-AP students Josey Quiroz. “I work as their program coordinator, supporting the Executive Director of Quality and Operations for the Destination Service Lines…that’s the shortened version of my job title,” Quiroz quips. 

Another student in the class, David Martinez, who obtained his undergraduate degree in public health at Berkeley, who also now works as the Program Coordinator for Volunteer Services at City of Hope, says that the in-person connection of the MSHCA Accelerated Program is a major reason why he chose ����ɫ�� to pursue an advanced degree in health care administration.

“One of the reasons I really like this program is because it works with my full-time work schedule, but we also have the in-person component too, which was something that really was important for me, compared with looking at other programs that were purely virtual,” Martinez says.

The curriculum of the MSHCA Accelerated Program, offered through the College of Health and Human Services (CHHS) and , combines online and face-to-face weekend instruction for working professionals. 

“We have that flexibility to work full-time, while also pursing this endeavor of obtaining our master’s,” says Angela Phan, another student studying in the program, who obtained her undergraduate degree at Cal State Fullerton, and who now works as a support coordinator for Keck Medicine of USC at the Hematology/Oncology Clinic in Newport Beach. “So, each quarter we have two classes -- one class is 100 percent online and the other is just five Saturday sessions in-person, so it works out for everyone’s schedule.” 

“We may whine and complain about having class on a Saturday just a little bit though,” interjects David to the laughter of some of his classmates. “But joking aside, we really do want to be here. We all want to move up in our careers and it’s very synergistic – a lot of what I’m learning in school here I’m applying at work, and vice versa.”

“That’s why I love this program,” says MSHCA-AP student Elizabeth Kavianian, “Having that in-person component has really, really helped to just meet people – I mean, these are all of my friends now, and I have been able to work with them professionally and also have fun with them in and outside of the class, and so that is huge. The balance of this program is amazing.” 

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Another great advantage of the program, according to Kavianian, is the Department of Health Care Management faculty. 

“The faculty here are great,” she says. “We’ve been able to have really supportive faculty. I even have a professor willing to review my resume, and so it’s like they are going to teach you the content, but you are also going to have some great mentorship opportunities too. I thought that was very valuable for someone like me who wants to continue to advance in their career.” 

Currently, Kavianian works as the Senior Workplace Health Specialist for Tesla. She studied at UC Riverside to obtain her bachelor’s degree in public policy and says she is still learning about the deeper world of health care management. Kavianian recently applied to, and was selected for, the highly competitive and prestigious CAHME/Judy Baar Topinka Foundation Scholarship for Health Policy. CAHME stands for the Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Management Education, which is the accrediting body for the ����ɫ�� Department of Healthcare Management graduate program. Elizabeth won out against students competing nationally, with the scholarship having gone to past recipients from top health care management programs such as John Hopkins University, Georgetown, and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, to name a few.

“I’m super grateful and honored to have had the chance to meet new people through this scholarship opportunity,” said Kavianian, who recently spoke at the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) Congress as part of the scholarship (the ACHE Congress is the annual premier education and networking event for healthcare leaders). Kavianian was in attendance with ����ɫ�� Department of Health Care Management faculty (Dr. Henry O’Lawrence (Chair) and Drs. Erlyana Erlyana and Linda Martinez, pictured below. Associate Professor Dr. Yang Lu, who is also the Graduate Program Director for Health Care Management at ����ɫ��, nominated Elizabeth for the award. 

“Ms. Elizabeth Kavianian is committed to public service and equitable healthcare, demonstrated through her advocacy for reproductive justice and policies expanding access to essential services,” said Dr. Lu.

According to the California Occupational Guide, “employment for Health Services Administrators is expected to grow at a rate faster than the rate for all other occupations in California.” With such an outlook, Angela Phan says she is excited about what the ����ɫ�� MSHCA Accelerated Program can do for her career. 

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“There are a lot of resources here [at ����ɫ��]. It helps that this program is an accelerated program; it is a two-year program, so it is nice to know we’ll already be done mid-August of next year (it’s crazy to think we just started this past September). It’s insane that we are already halfway though this program! But time is of the essence, so it is nice that we can get our degrees in such a quick manner and get moving in our careers.” 

Elizabeth Kavianian agrees. “For me, it has been about learning the foundation, learning health care and health care theory and how we can apply it to our current roles. [Getting our M.S. degree] offers us credibility when we do want to move up in our jobs. But then you take a look at some of the networking opportunities the program has given us; I think that’s the way to do it. I have gained lifelong friends and lifelong mentors out of this program, and so I think that’s going to be the biggest takeaway ultimately.”  

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