Her Story
About Natalie
I've been in healthcare for 7 years now, and my journey started in a way I never expected. In 2019, I was a new mom at 19 years old, and my mother-in-law, who was a nurse, encouraged me to become a CNA. I worked at a hospital for about a year, but then a friend of mine who has muscular dystrophy told me about working from home. I honestly didn't believe it was real at first - I thought working from home was fake! But she convinced me, and in 2020 I started doing healthcare customer service remotely. At first, it was just call center work, but in 2023 when I started at CVS, I really dove into benefits verification and prior authorization. It seemed like rocket science at first, but it started to grow on me, and I realized I wanted to build a career out of it. Now I specialize in submitting prior authorizations for specialty medications at specialty pharmacies - these are high-cost, often life-sustaining medications. I like being the background superhero - people don't even think about who's working on their prior authorizations, but it's still an important job. I'm still helping people through healthcare, which is a passion of mine, and I can do it from home. One of my proudest accomplishments was creating a Microsoft OneNote workflow guide at CVS that has been used by probably more than 300 agents and supervisors, and it's still being used to this day even though I don't work there anymore. I'm currently in my second semester at Coastal Alabama Community College, pursuing my Associate's in General Health Science on a fast-track program. I plan to transfer my credits to get a Bachelor's in Health Information Management, and within the next 5 to 10 years, I want to get into health informatics - where data and technology come together. I want to help improve healthcare software systems like Epic, making them easier to use for nurses and doctors, and training them on the applications. I'm a first-generation college student, so I don't have a lot of guidance - I'm just kind of doing everything on my own, but I'm proud of it.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Natalie
01What do you attribute your success to?
First and foremost, I have to say the Lord - that's my honest answer. But if I had to choose another factor, it's straight willpower, straight determination, just an I-can-do-it attitude. At any point with anything that I've done in my life the past 6 or 7 years, I could have just been like, you know, this is too much for me, I'm gonna go work at McDonald's or something. But I didn't give up. I'm also a first-generation college student, so I don't have a lot of guidance - I'm just kind of doing everything on my own. That takes a lot of determination to keep pushing forward when you don't have that roadmap laid out for you.
02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Don't quit. Stay determined. You can do it, and there is a way. If others can do it, you can do it. I want young women - and even older women - who have kids or pets they don't want to leave at home to know that there's another option out there. You can work from home, and you don't even have to have experience starting out. I was only 19 when I started, and I went from there to where I am now, and it's been great. I hope to share my story to inspire others and give them ideas. I've been wanting to create a TikTok account to explain my journey and hopefully help other women see what's possible.
Keep Exploring
More Influential Women · Alabama
Join Influential Women and start making an impact. Register now.