Why I Want To Be A Neonatologist

When I first graduated from high school and enrolled in CCU’s traditional undergraduate program I had high hopes to become a world famous neonatologist. I was driven, motivated and confident that I was going to succeed and become Dr. Rachael Hildebrandt by the time I was in my late twenties. As I moved from my teenage years and into my twenties, I saw these dreams vanish when life threw a curve ball in the form of a son. Suddenly the responsibility of being a wife and a mother required that I did my part to help support our little family, so school went on the backburner and my professional career at The Blood and Tissue Center of Central Texas began. I have spent the last 10 years in the blood industry and have been blessed to find myself in a director level position. I did not come into this position easily, but through hard

I have been involved in budget preparation, numerous project management roles, training of employees, document revision, system improvement/error investigations, industry and federal audits and new product implementation. However, of all of the various skills that I have added to my foundation of knowledge during these last years I believe that the two most valuable are my ability to properly, efficiently and effectively manage my time and my expertise in cultivating personal, meaningful relationships with my employees, co-workers and the blood center’s donors Being able to manage ones time is a necessity when trying to balance the schedule/responsibilities of being a wife, mother of 2, the Director of Donor Service and now an undergraduate student. Having advanced interpersonal skills has allowed for me to succeed in a professional environment with the support of my fellow blood bankers pushing me forward into new leadership