Dari Lam, a senior Health Management student, said impacting people’s life is what she enjoys most about her major.

Lam will graduate in May with her bachelor’s degree. Prior to Health Management, she was a nursing major. Even though she lost her passion for nursing, Lam still wants to help people.

“For the longest time, I really wanted to do nursing, but when the time came close to applying for nursing school, I felt like my passion was not completely there,” Lam said. “I discovered health management. With this, I’m still able help people — not just directly with patients,”

Lam ties her passion back to her country of origin. Originally from Vietnam, she says her culture is enriched with helping others.

“For my culture, I’ve seen and learned what it is to help others,” Lam said. “I grew up with it. I feel like my country needs a lot of help. I want to work and give back to my country.”

In her career field, Lam will be involved with overseeing health professionals, developing schedules, and creating strategic plans to make hospitals more effective.

“Patients always come first. I have to be able to communicate with physicians and nurses in order to provide the best possible service to them,” Lam said.

Although helping others is rewarding, Lam’s major hasn’t been easy, she said. The workload and time management that comes along with it have proven difficult.

“I feel like the hardest thing is assignments on top of assignments,” Lam said. “It’s time consuming, but once you put your time into it, you can get it done. It’s not impossible.”

Lam said she has a solid support system made up of family and friends.

“My family supports my decisions on whatever I choose to do in school,” Lam said. “I work with several of my friends, which makes it a relief to be in this field knowing that I am not alone in this.”

Post-graduation, Lam will work on her practicum this summer, shadowing at a medical facility and building up her experience before she fully enters the medical field.

“You have to know why you’re doing this,” Lam said. “You can’t just do it for the money. You have to pursue your true passion.”