Crystal Pena

I've been in my field for about 5 years, working in various capacities to help people. I started as a daycare teacher, then worked as a social worker before moving into my current role almost a year ago. Now I help manage a medical care organization, ensuring that regulations and contractual obligations are followed federally and statewide. My work is very detail-oriented and fast-paced. A typical day involves reviewing reports, analyzing month-to-month trends to ensure the MCO is progressing appropriately, communicating about contractual requirements, maintaining timelines, and ensuring reports are finalized and sent to the right people. I'm also the Human Resources Talent Acquisition intern, which adds another dimension to my work. I earned my undergraduate degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in Child, Family Youth Studies because I really just wanted to help people. After about 30 years, I decided to further my education and am currently completing a Master's of Education in Higher Education and Student Affairs at the University of Nebraska Kearney, with an anticipated graduation in May of this year. I'm hoping to use the expertise I've learned in this position and my other experiences to move on to university roles and director roles.