Her Story
About Danya
Danya Mares is a senior business student at the University of Houston Downtown in Houston, Texas. She has worked in healthcare for four to five years, beginning as a nationally certified medical assistant handling clinical tasks such as triaging patients, administering injections, assisting with wound dressing, and translating for patients. She now serves as a care coordinator for a cognitive healthcare startup company, focusing on business operations, coordinating care across clinics, tracking cognitive care, and managing patient outreach in an administrative capacity. Mares holds certifications as a nationally certified medical assistant, CPR certified, and Google Analytics certified. She is a member of the Association of Latino Professionals in America, where she serves on the Corporate Relations Committee at her school chapter, and the Greater Woman's Chamber of Commerce in Houston. She volunteers monthly, including with the Houston Gem and Mineral Society each November and operations for Hustle Houston events. Mares attributes her success to resilience, perseverance, and poise as a hard-working, goal-driven individual committed to continued growth with grace and gratitude.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Danya
01What do you attribute your success to?
I would say resilience and perseverance and poise. I'm a very hard-working, goal-driven person, so I've worked so hard to get to where I am. I've come so far just to get this far, but it's not the end for me. So for me, it's just continuing to keep progressing and keep on staying strong, and doing everything that I can for my goals and my growth with grace and gratitude and poise.
02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Shadow as many professionals as you can, whether administrative or on-site, to get a broad idea of problems in healthcare. Analyze the career field you want because healthcare is very diverse - some prefer clinical, others administrative or empathetic patient care.
03What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
Patients are scared to prioritize their health or take care of themselves, leading to critical illnesses and diagnoses they never imagined. Healthcare is very expensive, limiting patients from checking on their health.
04What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Growth - being a growth-minded person pushed out of comfort zone. Patience and delayed gratification. Compassion because we don't know others' challenges, keeping an optimistic outlook. Self-respect because the biggest supporter is yourself.
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