Q&A with Michelle Kantor '12

What did you like about attending USD?

I liked a lot of things about USD. One of my favorites was the very small class sizes, which were helpful with class discussions, personal attention, the teachers knowing my name and a familiarity with all my classmates. Outside of class, all students are extremely friendly and I could never walk around campus without running into people I knew closely. The teachers were all very friendly as well, welcoming and helpful in everything from classwork, advising and writing letters of recommendation. It is a very close-knit community with a true sense a family, students (especially in the Psychological Sciences department) are invested in helping each other, and study groups have occurred in the majority of my classes. USD presented me with numerous opportunities to interact with the administration as well, a chance I would not have been presented at another school.

I transferred to USD, so another thing that stood out and helped me become adjusted and become involved on campus was the Orientation. They have separate orientations for incoming freshman and for transfer students which allowed me to meet other new students transferring in with similar experiences. Additionally, I was placed in a transfer pre-ceptorial class, very similar to the freshman pre-ceptorial class in that it was open only to incoming transfer students.

Which experiences/ classes did you enjoy the most/ shaped your future career aspirations?

I was very involved in a number of leadership positions on campus including AS (Associated Students/ student government), being the President of the Transfer Student Organization, a member of Torero-Squad (as an Orientation small-group leader), and the Transfer Advisory Board and the Student Services Committee. Through these leadership experiences, I found my passion for leadership and management. I aim to become a hospital administrator, I reached this decision later than most in college by matching my passion for helping others with my leadership aspirations.
I believe that although most people entering my field have a background in business my degree in psychology/psychological sciences will aide me in more ways. My research methods and my research methods lab classes have instilled a great understanding of statistics and proper use of statistical methods which are necessary both for my Masters program and Ph.D. if I decide to continue my studies, but also in my field and in the workplace. All of my behavioral classes will assist me in understanding (not analyzing!) the people who work for me and hopefully help me in motivating others and in showing compassion.

Some of the classes I enjoyed the most outside of my major were my 5 philosophy classes, they ranged from logic to ethics to basic philosophy. They all forced me to think ways and read things I never would have had I not attended USD and been required to take 3 philosophy classes. I fell in love with the classes and continued to take them as electives.

What are your future career plans?

As earlier stated, I would ultimately like to sit in a C-suite position as a CEO/COO for a major healthcare system (preferably in Southern California). I will be attending Cornell for my Masters in Healthcare Administration next year, subsequently I hope to earn a fellowship at a delivery care system/hospital and from there work my way up. Sometime during my career I would like to attend a doctoral program.