Her Story
About Melina
Melina Nevarez serves as Hospital Director at Summit Veterinary Specialty Center, a private company in Firestone, Colorado. She has worked in the veterinary field since 2000, accumulating 26 years of experience, and previously held the role of regional operations manager for multiple radiology companies. Nevarez earned her associate's degree from Bel-Rea Institute in Colorado in 2000, becoming a licensed veterinary technician with AAS and RVT credentials. She also holds a website coding certification from the University of Denver. Her primary areas of focus include team leadership, training, and hospital operations, where she emphasizes being hands-on with staff and clients rather than delegating from behind a desk. Nevarez values honesty, empathy, team building, and effective communication in both her professional and personal life, viewing family as another form of working environment. She attributes her success to believing in oneself and finding ways around obstacles, and she advises others, especially young women entering the field, to dream big while taking small steps and to never let anything hold them back.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Melina
01What do you attribute your success to?
Believe in yourself, and you can accomplish pretty much anything. Tear down those walls that have always been in the way. There's nothing that you can't do. You just have to find a way around it.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
Don't let anything hold you back. Dream big, and just take little bits at a time.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Believe in yourself. Believe in what you want to do, and nothing can hold you back.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
As far as management, not being heard by people above you. Bringing things to the table that go outside of the norm. I'm very much a person that likes to shake up the industry, and that is not always seen very nicely.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Honesty, empathy, team building, effective communication. Family is also a working environment.
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