Brittany Petrino
Part-Time Health Sector MBA Associate Director, Customer and Field Enablement, Sobi - North America“Sitting in meetings with esteemed leaders of our organization and being able to contribute has been really powerful to me. To hear those people I’ve known the past seven, eight, or nine years comment on my growth has been rewarding.”
Brittany Petrino chose Questrom because of the health sector focus and the MBA program’s global perspective. She also had her heart set on Questrom’s India Field Seminar. “While pursuing my undergraduate degree, I did a similar field seminar in South America. I wouldn’t necessarily step outside my comfort zone without these experiences.”
Ultimately though, she chose Questrom because of the “like-minded individuals that push you a little bit farther inside and outside of class—it was just the people quite frankly.”
Growing up in a family with an extensive medical background, focusing on a career in healthcare runs in her blood, but she wasn't sure if that was her path. "Even though I knew at some point that I'd pursue an MBA, I never quite realized it would be within the health sector. And that I would be so passionate about it.”
Brittany received an undergraduate degree in international business with a concentration in human resource management and wanted to go down the nonprofit path to drive social change for the world. Upon graduation, she accepted a position with biotech company MilliporeSigma. In her current role with the company, she works as a liaison between their functional analysts for all of the IT systems in the business. “My job now is to help shift the way our company uses the tools and systems to be proactive in the life sciences industry.”
The PEMBA program has helped Brittany look at the healthcare industry from a broader perspective. “Choosing elective coursework focused on healthcare helped me shift my mindset from a place of business and life sciences to an actual service delivery module.”
And she got to experience what she says was, “a trip of a lifetime,” with Questrom’s India Field Seminar. “The places we saw were all very eye opening in the dichotomy of India. It forced me to think outside of the general perspective that I think we have here in the States in this bubble of a complex healthcare system. It forced me to be more creative in how I approach problems. It solidified the fact that quality of care doesn’t necessarily mean you need to spend the most money or be in wealthy places.”
When she started the program, Questrom’s faculty and staff told her to prepare for her life to transform. She says it certainly has. "The network of friends I’ve made and the way I’ve been pushed outside of my comfort zone and challenged to think differently has been life-changing. I’ve been pushed to work harder for the things I want because I’m surrounded by people who want all of those same things. It’s refreshing to be around so many people with the same goals and ambitions as me.”
Her role with MilliporeSigma is continually evolving, and since being enrolled in the PEMBA program, she’s growing right along with it. “Sitting in meetings with such esteemed leaders of our organization and being able to contribute more broadly has been really powerful to me. To see those people I’ve known the past seven, eight, or nine years be able to comment on my growth has been rewarding.”
“Now, I’m able to grow in the organization and pivot my career in the direction I want it to go.” The value of the program? “It’s me saying I can impact change and this is the shift I’m going to make.”
Looking ahead, Brittany says she wants to move into service delivery or even go back to start the dream of working in a nonprofit. “I want to go into those remote areas of the states that have fewer healthcare options and education and volunteer or create organizations to go there and help with that education.”
She’s grown passionate about two areas that beg for change—the poverty found in the Appalachian region of our country and the opioid epidemic. She says she wants to work towards shifting the way that healthcare delivers to those in areas where people are most affected. “I’m not a healthcare provider, she says, “but I can help get them there. I want to drive change in those areas.”