Her passion for physical therapy started at a career day in middle school. The graduating MBA student recalls seeing a physical therapist treat one of her classmates, inspiring her to volunteer at Danbury Hospital’s rehabilitation department.

After debating a career in sports physical therapy, Hillery found her niche in treating infants.

“Pediatrics then became the area of PT I ended up starting my career in and I spent my first six years professionally treating pediatric patients ranging from babies to teenagers,” said Hillery.

Her experiences along the way truly shaped where she is now — from pediatric care to healthcare management to now pursuing her master’s in business administration alongside her job working as spine program manager at the Bone and Joint Institute at Hartford Hospital.

“I’ve been given many opportunities to professionally step outside of my comfort zone over the years and have always taken them,” she said. “It’s what shaped me into the professional I am today and paved the way for me heading back to school to pursue my MBA."

Hillery’s current responsibilities at the hospital consist of overseeing the spine program, which has an advanced spine certification through The Joint Commission, indicating the highest quality of care provided for patients. To maintain this certification, Hillery and her team track and report data on quality and safety metrics for their elective surgical spine patients.

The intricacy of data-fueled decision-making alongside the Quinnipiac and Hartford HealthCare partnership made Hillery’s choice to pursue her MBA an easy one.

“Data-based decision-making is at the heart of everything we do at The Bone and Joint Institute since it takes the guess work out of what clinical practices are optimal for our patient’s health and outcomes,” she said. “So, when Hartford HealthCare partnered with Quinnipiac to provide educational pathways for healthcare workers who wanted to advance themselves in their practice, I jumped at the opportunity to pursue my MBA."

Hillery also admired the PMBA program structure, noting its design, making it manageable for professionals already working in their field to pursue their MBA.

Quinnipiac is so much more than just the place she earned her degree, it’s also the place where she has continued her family’s legacy. It can sometimes feel cliche to say your college is your family, but for her Hillery, her family and Quinnipiac are interwoven.

“The Bobcat tradition goes even deeper than that in my family since my sister met her husband at Quinnipiac, and my brother’s high school sweetheart also went to Quinnipiac and they are now married as well,” said Hillery. “It’s nice to be able to now share in that legacy with them, and I had such a great experience with my PMBA that I can understand why all four of them are so passionate about being Quinnipiac alumni!”

Hillery looks forward to graduation, where she can reminisce with her family and share a special moment celebrating success.

With the School of Health Sciences Undergraduate and Graduate Commencement falling on Mother’s Day, Hillery got her mother a “QU Mom” sweatshirt in celebration of graduating and a memorable mothers day.

Hillery successfully balanced graduate school with a demanding work schedule, finding that early mornings, specifically 4 a.m., was the perfect time for completing coursework.

“It’s funny because waking up early for my PMBA made my transition professionally to the orthopedic hospital setting much easier, it was almost like it was meant to be,” said Hillery. “Early alarms inside, I was really surprised with how much of my PMBA core classes could be immediately applicable to my healthcare work, which was very motivating. I utilize so much of my new business knowledge base in creative ways throughout my day, and this started from class No. 1 and never waned.”

Looking to the future, Hillery looks forward to elevating her professional practice with knowledge from her PMBA courses, noting the unwavering support she’s received from her team at the The Bone and Joint Institute at Hartford Hospital.

Hillery urges current healthcare students to take advantage of as many opportunities as possible to expose themselves to healthcare technology.

“We are living at a time when so much of our world is changing because of rapidly advancing technology, and healthcare is no exception to that. While cost and access to care are ongoing challenges for both patients and providers alike, the advancements we are seeing in technology, particularly in AI and analytics, are setting us up for a truly exciting and promising future where we can personalize treatment like never before,” said Hillery. “We are counting on the next generation of clinicians coming out of healthcare programs to not only embrace this change, but to drive it.”