Spring Semester Kickoff Event Fosters Community Among Master of Healthcare Administration Students

The spring semester welcome back event organized by the Society of Healthcare Administration started with a welcome by Dr. Pavani Rangachari, professor and director of the University’s MHA Program and SOHA’s faculty adviser, who delivered the opening address and discussed the MHA Facebook page launch, which aims to bring alumni and current students together in the coming months.

Connecticut Association of Healthcare Executives (CTAHE) guest speaker Prof. Leslie Zucker, MBA, MT (ASCP), followed the opening session by spreading awareness about CTAHE congresses and webinars and how they benefit MHA students in building their network in the community. She encourages students to ask as many questions as possible and suggests trying out internships.

Professor David O. Lane, M.S., a practitioner in residence who teaches the capstone for MHA students at the University, then presented as a faculty guest speaker. He addressed the capstone projects and detailed the numerous projects he is working on.

Philip Sochi ’18 MHA, an alumnus of the MHA program who is the director of operations at Stamford Health and a new adjunct faculty member, then spoke on the value of internships and the job market for MHA graduates.

Finally, Garcia Curtis ’23 MHA shared her experience of serving as a program assistant for the annual ACHE conference in Chicago last year and mentioned that “networking through CTAHE and attending ACHE Congresses has opened many doors to me from a professional standpoint.”

As the director of community relations for SOHA, I would like to take this opportunity to inform my fellow MHA students about the MHA Career Mentoring Sessions in Spring 2023. This is an eight-week mentorship program offered to current MHA students by MHA faculty, Advisory Board members, and alumni that focuses on the opportunities offered to MHA graduates.

Further information regarding this event will be provided in the Society of Healthcare Administration newsletters that individuals can subscribe to by reaching out to us via email at soha@newhaven.edu or on Instagram @soha_unh. We encourage you to join us!

Nikhila Mamanduri ’24 MHA, a candidate in the University’s Master of Healthcare Administration program, serves as the director of community relations for the University’s Society of Healthcare Administration chapter.