Mykayla E. Smith, MPH

I think dedication and trust in yourself are key. Trusting that you are capable and you can do large roles, you can take on new opportunities, and you don't have to be an expert when you start, but if you're willing to grow and learn, you become unstoppable. No one's gonna stop you if you're willing to put the work in to achieve what your goals are. Surrounding yourself around people who are also successful will encourage and motivate you to do more, to be more, and focus on the things that truly matter to you, and walk away from the things that don't serve you well. That's been the hardest lesson to learn, but the most rewarding lesson is to walk away from things that aren't serving you and what you want to accomplish. I've stayed focused and dedicated and trusted in myself that I can do it, that I can accomplish anything I set my mind to.

My initial advice would be to take advantage of every opportunity you can to grow. You're not going to know all the answers, and that's the best position to be in, as long as you're willing to learn. Really seek out people who can be mentors, who can inspire you, that you can accomplish amazing things. And that may look different for everyone, but be true to yourself in the process. Because if you're not authentically you, nothing's going to ever quite serve you the way you want it to. If you show up from day one entering the workforce with a clear mind and willingness to embrace all of the trials and tribulations you're gonna encounter, it's gonna happen, it's life, nothing's perfect on paper, that's what's really going to ground you in who you are, what's most important to you, and don't let anyone take that from you. And if they try, don't let them. Re-evaluate, pivot, make a change that's gonna serve you at the end of the day.

Entering into healthcare, it is heavily a woman-dominant field, until you get into the executive-level roles. Making that jump from your senior-level leadership into executive-level leadership, especially for young women, can be daunting because it's never been dominated by females and women in leadership. That's a challenge because the infrastructure is male-dominated. But the infrastructure doesn't have to define our success or our opportunity. And if you go in with that mindset, and you build those relationships, you develop influence, so you can overcome the broken infrastructure and help be part of the change of creating a better, more diverse and dynamic infrastructure that truly meets the needs of those we're trying to serve.

Integrity is really an important value to me, both professionally and personally. Knowing your limits and being willing to take accountability in the good and the bad, because to me, that builds trust and a level of humility to say, like, I'm not always gonna get it right, but I'm willing to make it right. Empathy is also a close second, acknowledging we're all humans, we all have things going on, and we need to support one another and be empathetic. This world could use a lot more empathy and advocacy. Those are two very strong values that I work hard to demonstrate, and I tend to gravitate towards as well, both professionally and personally.