Investing in the Future: Why Collegiate Engagement Matters for Healthcare Leadership

Speaking at AED's Chapter meeting in April 2025.

Each spring, we witness the rhythm of renewal—graduation caps rise into the air as new beginnings unfold beneath them. For the Class of 2025, this season marks not only the end of formal education, but the beginning of leadership in a healthcare system both challenged and charged with opportunity.

About a month ago, I had the honor of speaking at the AED Chapter meeting at the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA). Over 50 pre-health students showed up—hungry to learn, eager to serve, and quietly preparing for the responsibilities ahead. In that moment, it became abundantly clear: the future of healthcare is not someday—it’s now, sitting in lecture halls, dissecting case studies, questioning norms, and dreaming of systems that heal with equity and excellence.

This is not theory for me—it is practice. Through HealthcareLOT, I believe in nurturing the next generation with urgency and intentionality. And I’ve committed to that work inside the classroom as well.

At Franklin University, I teach doctoral students in healthcare administration. My courses—Organizations, Community, and Global Health, Ethics and Technology in Healthcare Delivery Models, and Health Economics, Resources, and Finance—are crafted to develop leaders who not only understand complex systems but also possess the moral clarity to transform them.

At East Texas A&M University, formerly Texas A&M University-Commerce, I guide upperclassmen through courses on cultural inequities and social justice—lessons that cannot be taught without first listening to the lived experiences of those impacted by the very structures we seek to reform.

Why does this matter?

Because influence begins early. Because exposure unlocks possibility. Because shaping leadership before a white coat is earned or a C-suite is attained is how we build a system that lasts.

So here's my charge to you, whether you’re a clinician, a professor, a hospital leader, or a mentor—remember this: the classroom is one of our greatest instruments for change. Speak. Teach. Pour into the ones coming after us. In addition, if the opportunity presents for you to have a potential healthcare leader of tomorrow shadow you, please embrace the opportunity to give back.

The next chapter of healthcare is being written today. Let’s make sure the next authors are ready.

Best wishes,

-Lana Bamiro, DrPH, FACHE