Career Advice

Melissa Molina ’09: Where Is She Now?

Melissa Molina ’09 is the Residency Coordinator in the Department of Internal Medicine at The Brooklyn Hospital Center, managing 90 residents. She also serves as a Board of Trustees member of Omega Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated, a national sorority committed to the development of collegiate and professional women through sisterhood, diversity, leadership, service and academic excellence. After work hours, she is a wellness coach and mentors in Herbalife Nutrition, helping people live a healthier lifestyle.
Job Title and Company: Residency Coordinator, the Brooklyn Hospital Center
Degree from SBU: BS in Healthcare Management with a minor in Women’s Studies, Class of 2009
What piece of advice would you offer students looking to get into your area of interest and expertise?
By taking on a leadership role on campus, it will teach you how to work collectively with others, delegate, and lead. These tools will be utilized and practiced after college, so it’s best to start sharpening those skills now. I highly recommend networking and volunteering. In the health care field, it’s who you know, and who will open the door for you. It will be very hard to stand out from the massive amount of applications they receive in their application portal. I would also recommend finding a mentor. They will help guide you and give you recommendations.
How do you think experiential learning (internships, service-learning, volunteering, etc.) impacts career success? Have you ever participated in experiential learning?
It impacts greatly and it’s a huge advantage. By being exposed and learning the tasks, you will see whether or not you are interested and there you will have the opportunity to network and ask questions. I did volunteer, but I wish I would have done it while I was an undergraduate.
How did you decide to enter into your field of work?
I love helping people. People said I should have been a nurse, but although I have compassion, I have my heart on my sleeves and would have gotten attached to all the patients, if I had gone that route. Instead, I chose to work on the operational side and work with doctors, residents, and physicians, as well as administrators and managers, to make sure the patients are well taken care of.
In what ways can students make the most of their free time?
Read, travel and work on their goals. They may change and that is okay. You are not going to have all of the answers right now, but with time and experience, you will know where you want to be and create the strategy to get there.