Her Story
About Hemadri
I've been in healthcare for 8 years. I completed my undergraduate in computer science, but during that time, I honestly did not feel too much connected with coding and technology and engineering. When I got my first job in consulting at Deloitte, I was able to figure out that what really resonates with me was just talking to people and understanding their problems and solving them. I realized that was my strength. After some time, I realized I really feel fulfillment if I do something that has some impact. When I got into healthcare projects around the time that COVID was happening, it really fueled me. It gave me this unknown sense of motivation that if I know what I'm doing is impacting a doctor who's working in a hospital with a patient, giving them alerts to stay safe and keep distance, saving some lives somewhere, a little bit, I realized I want to stay in that field. I decided to pursue my master's in MBA from UNC, North Carolina. They are known for their healthcare program. That's when I started exploring where I want to go next, and this led me to this job I am in currently with public health departments, directly helping out this section of the society, which is something that I feel very fulfilled doing.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Hemadri
01What do you attribute your success to?
I think it's hard work and a little bit of luck. Both things really matter in getting to where I am today.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I ever received was that the person you're talking to on the other side, the client, the customer, is also a human. Just keep that in mind, and the noise will go away - like, oh, it's a client call, it's a customer call, this is the topic. Keep that thing in mind to have the focus, like, it's a conversation. I got this advice early in my career, and it shaped everything completely, like how I talk. I get a lot of compliments from customers and clients that they like working with me and they like our conversations. I think that attributed to this.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Something that I realized a little bit late, and I think it would have helped if I had done that earlier in my career and in my life generally, is introspect. Spend a lot more time on introspecting. Knowing yourself should be like one of your slots in the day as a timetable, like, this is the 2 hours I'm gonna spend in knowing myself. It really helps with imposter syndrome, comparisons, insecurity down the line in your life. The sooner you know yourselves, your strengths and weaknesses, the more confident is your aura. I don't know, it just makes a difference.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
It's a very weird space, because healthcare is so much in demand, but the tech industry itself is really struggling with the AI boom and trying to keep up with it. But I kind of see a very different situation. I read in the newspapers that AI is booming and you should upskill in AI, but the industry that I'm working in, which is public health, has different needs. They are digitalizing themselves quite a lot. Public health departments are really looking seriously to have digital platforms that connect them. They're trying to move away from paper-based charting. A lot of them still do paper, and that's where the real opportunity is right now.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
I think helping people is a really strong value I stand by. It drives me a lot to do something. It's a friend, it's a family member, it's a stranger, in my job - helping people is what motivates me and guides my decisions both professionally and personally.
Keep Exploring
More Influential Women · North Carolina
Join Influential Women and start making an impact. Register now.