When Allie Harrison first came to tour FGCU, she had her sights set on another school. But while she was walking around campus, FGCU’s president approached her, asked her what she thought of the school and shared his vision with her. Nothing like that had happened at any other school she visited. After that, she would never look at another school again.

She quickly learned that kind of personal attention was the norm here. 

“FGCU builds an environment that forges those kinds of connections. All of my professors knew me personally and knew my goals. They helped match me to the best internship, career and job options for my skills and interests. I wouldn’t be where I am today without them.”

And getting to where she is today -- assistant director of operations at NCH Physician Group -- also took something else she received from Marieb College --- the reality of the career path. The best healthcare systems place a high value on administrators who are willing to start at the bottom and rise through the ranks.

Before she even graduated, a local health system offered her a job checking patients in at the front desk. She jumped at the chance. She understood that working the front desk gives you an understanding of day-to-day operations. You get the knowledge and experience of walking in the shoes of the people you will one day manage.

She chuckles when she recalls interviewing for her current position years later with diverse experience under her belt. “The first question the VP asked me was if I had ever worked a front desk.” Because of a lesson she learned at the Marieb School, she got the job.