MHA Ambassadors
Bhavika Anand (bio)
Undergraduate Degree: SDM College of Dental Sciences & Hospital, India
Email: banand@usc.edu
Divya Mowji (bio)
Concentration: Healthcare Administration
Undergraduate Degree: UCLA
Email: dmowji@usc.edu
Anahit Petrosyan (bio)
Concentration: Management, Operations, Leadership
Undergraduate Degree: UC Irvine
Email: anahitp@usc.edu
Shefali Viegas (bio)
Concentration: Healthcare Administration
Undergraduate Degree: Maharashtra University of Health Sciences, India
Email: viegas@usc.edu
USC Price MHA Ambassador Bios
Bhavika Anand is currently a first year student in the Masters of Health Administration program with a Bachelor’s Degree in Dental Surgery from SDM College of Dental Sciences, Karnataka, India. She believes that healthcare is a team sport which led her to move out of the realm of dentistry to resolving healthcare issues at a global level. She was drawn to the MHA at Price because of the program’s ideal balance of analytical and practical skills with hands on healthcare experience provided by the 1000-hour residency component; plus the fantastic Trojan network is the icing on the cake! Bhavika is an enthusiastic learner, seeks to empower others, and is interested in medical groups and population health management. With her experience as a clinician in India and her patient centered approach to the health industry, she is looking out for an intersection that combines her background knowledge with what this program has to offer! Bhavika also loves interacting with new people and is always eager happy to help others!
Mary Bueno is a first year Masters of Health Administration from Anaheim, California. She completed her bachelor’s degree at Cal State Fullerton, majoring in health science with an emphasis in global health. She participated in USC’s Diversity in Healthcare Leadership Summer Enrichment Program where she was introduced to the MHA degree and all the careers opportunities it offered. She chose Price because of the diverse student body and faculty and the resources offered for students’ to achieve academic and career success. Her interests lie in identifying disparities that affect access to healthcare services in marginalized communities. She hopes to become a leader in the nonprofit sector to help improve the health of families and children and truly make an impact in reducing prevalent health disparities.
Dionne Delacruz is a first year Master of Health Administration student. She graduated from San Jose State University with her bachelor’s in Health Science/Health Care Administration. She chose the MHA program after participating in USC’s Diversity in Healthcare Leadership – Sacramento Summer Enrichment Program in 2017. This experience allowed her the opportunity to visit public agencies and healthcare organizations serving diverse and underrepresented communities.
Deanna Durke is a first year MHA student from Long Beach, CA who graduated from UCLA in 2018, majoring in Sociology with a minor in Public Health. She was drawn to the MHA program due to the residency component that she felt offers the best hands-on experience and serves as a great transition into the field by supplementing classes with real-world experience. The deciding factor to attend USC was the faculty and staff, who cultivate a welcoming environment at Price and are always willing to go above and beyond to help students achieve their goals. Deanna’s career interests include operations and value improvement, and she think USC’s and Price’s extensive network will optimize her academic and professional opportunities.
Mandy Kehal is a first year in the MHA program and a Southern California native. She graduated from UC Irvine with a B.S. in Biological Sciences and a minor in psychology and Social Behavior. Her previous experiences working as a clinical research associate and in an emergency department allowed her to see many facets of healthcare that needed improvement prior to any initial provider interaction. Mandy hopes to work within operations and management within a hospital to improve quality of care for patients and gain relevant experience to one day create a non-profit which aims to provide natural disaster relief efforts for third world countries. Her previous experience working with Flying Samaritans and running a free clinic in Tecate, Mexico opened her eyes to the issues of healthcare beyond the US and she hopes to make an impact not just nationally but globally. In Mandy’s free time you can find her at a coffee shop, telling a corny dad joke, listening to the newest Drake song, or trying a new recipe in the kitchen.
Azniv Libaryan received her Bachelor of Science degree in Public Health from California Baptist University in 2017. Improving health and wellness in her community has always been a passion of hers, which is why throughout her undergraduate career she immersed herself in multiple community service projects and healthcare internships within Los Angeles. One internship specifically at UCLA Health’s Patient Experience Office, introduced Azniv to the field of healthcare administration and patient advocacy. Azniv currently works for UCLA School of Dentistry’s General Clinic as a Group Practice Administrator/Administrative Specialist who oversees clinical operations and 140 dental students assigned to her group practice. She chose USC for her MHA because of the 1,000 hour residency requirement, where she will gain real life, hands-on experience to improve her leadership skills. She hopes to gain a broader perspective of the healthcare delivery system and focus on solving contemporary issues our healthcare system faces.
Divya Mowji is a second year Master of Health Administration candidate at USC. She chose Price because of the 1000 hour residency requirement during which students can gain hands on experience while working in a healthcare organization. The residency program really allows students to apply concepts and principles that they learn in class to real projects at their respective healthcare organizations. Divya currently serves as an Administrative Resident at Keck Medicine of USC in the Information Services department under the Application, Strategy and Transformation team. She hopes to pursue a career in consulting and continue developing her skills to become a leader and truly make an impact on the future of healthcare delivery.
Anahit Petrosyan is a first-year USC Price graduate student pursuing her master’s degree in Health Administration (MHA). She graduated from UC Irvine with both a bachelor’s degree in Business Economics and Public Health Policy. Health and nutrition has always been of her interest even when she was young. Anahit currently manages a small, private dermatology office working closely with the doctor, nurse, patients, accountants, and so on. She chose USC after attending USC’s Diversity in Healthcare Leadership Summer Enrichment Program where she was able to get a little exposure to faculties, alumni, and healthcare leaders with Dr. LaVonna Lewis. In addition, Dr. Lewis organized site visits to various of healthcare organizations and even a volunteer day. Anahit loved the hands-on experience that USC had to offer and she learned so much in that short amount of time that she wanted to pursue more.
Dhara Shah is currently a first year Master of Health Administration student with a previous bachelor degree in Dental Surgery from Kasturba Medical College in India. Her biggest attraction to the MHA program was the 1000-hour residency component and the tremendous network along with the alumni support all throughout the course. Her current interests lie in the field of Health Information Management and Health Information Technology since she wants to deeply delve into pressing issues such as managing the confidentiality and privacy of patients’ health information. She is immensely excited about the whole journey of learning and great experiences.
Shefali Viegas is a first year Master of Health Administration student from Mumbai, India with a degree in Dental Surgery from Maharashtra University of Health Sciences. After completing an internship in Chicago, she returned to India to manage a dental office and practice dentistry full-time. Through her dual experience, she recognized the global challenges of accessibility, affordability and quality of healthcare delivery that are prevalent and now hopes to enrich her understanding of health management and policy in order to tackle these systemic organizational inefficiencies. She was drawn to USC for its unique curriculum and administrative residency, the cultural diversity of the cohort, the extensive Trojan network in sunny California and the numerous extracurricular opportunities that the school has to offer. Shefali hopes to amalgamate clinical dentistry and administration by streamlining operations to achieve the ultimate goal of reduced healthcare costs and improved patient outcome. She is currently the Program Development Chair of the Upsilon Phi Delta Honor Society and also sings with the Oriana Choir at the USC Thornton School of Music.