At a stage in life when many assume growth should slow, I stood at the edge of something new and hesitated. Not because I lacked the credentials or curiosity, but because of the fear of the unknown.

I had already built an extensive career in medicine. I had led teams, mentored others, started a solo private practice, and managed complex, high-stakes situations in the office, the operating room, and the delivery room. And yet, despite that experience, I wondered if I was stepping too far away from my comfort zone when I considered pursuing another degree. My inner voice questioned whether my season of growth had already passed.

When I attended Fuqua’s prospective student weekend, I arrived hopeful but guarded. Sitting in the lecture hall with my name tent in front of me, after being out of the classroom for more than 25 years, I became acutely aware of how visible I felt, older, seasoned, different. I wasn’t sure whether those differences would be seen as assets or liabilities.

It didn’t take long to find out.

Striving For More

During one conversation, another prospective student told me that I didn’t really need an MBA. By applying, he said, I would be taking a spot from someone who needed it more than me. The comment wasn’t cruel. It was calm, almost practical. But it landed with force, as if my desire to learn required justification, as if education were something you age out of, as if growth were a finite resource meant to be rationed. I smiled politely and moved on. But later, I sat with a question I hadn’t expected to face: Was I allowed to want more?

That moment revealed how ageism can quietly show up for women in professional education, not loudly, but subtly, through recalculation and concern framed as logic. For mid-career women especially, ambition can invite another sharp question: Haven’t you already done enough?

Expanding How I Understand Health Care

That question followed me into the program in another form. I was often asked what I hoped to gain from an MBA. The assumption was that being a physician should be enough. But over my 25 years as an OB/GYN, I’ve seen firsthand how leadership decisions, financial incentives, and organizational culture directly shape patient outcomes. I didn’t come to Fuqua to leave medicine behind. I came to learn how to bring the lived experiences of patients, providers, and communities into rooms where decisions are made.

As part of that commitment, I chose to complement my MBA with a certificate in Health Sector Management. Once again, I was asked if I really needed it. Medical education teaches us how to diagnose, treat, and care for patients, but it offers little exposure to the business of medicine, pharmaceutical development, or health policy.

While I have deep expertise in the clinical space, I recognized that I did not have the same mastery in these other domains. By then, I had grown accustomed to being questioned, but I no longer let it deter me. The Health Sector Management curriculum has been an essential part of my Fuqua experience, helping me see healthcare as an interconnected system shaped by policy, economics, technology, and strategy.

One of the most formative components of that experience was the Week in DC. Engaging directly with policymakers, thought leaders, and institutions responsible for shaping health policy crystallized my interest in policy as a lever for change. It helped me see how my clinical experience, business training, and leadership perspective can converge to influence healthcare beyond individual patients, practices, and hospitals.

Where Growth is Shared

What I feared most was that the mindset I encountered that first weekend would define my experience, that I would be tolerated rather than welcomed. That fear has proven unfounded.

I have come to appreciate the power of intergenerational learning, both inside and outside the classroom. Some of the most impactful learning at Fuqua has happened outside formal class time, through long conversations in the café, spontaneous debates in the lobby bar, late-night reflections after group work, and candid exchanges that extended well beyond our in-person and virtual classes. Those moments built trust and perspective, reinforcing that learning at Fuqua is shaped through relationships, shared curiosity, and community.

Within that environment, intergenerational learning feels natural. My classmates bring fresh frameworks and technological fluency. I bring context, synthesis, and perspective shaped by years in practice. I didn’t take a seat from someone else; I added a voice, just as my classmates added theirs.

Trusting My Voice Again

When I first arrived at Fuqua, I was hesitant and quietly uncertain about whether I belonged. Over time, that weight lifted. Through this program, I’ve gained business skills, but just as importantly, I’ve learned to trust my voice again. Leadership, I’m learning, doesn’t require starting over. It requires integration.

That lesson came into sharper focus when legendary Duke men’s basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski, Coach K, spoke to our class about growth, humility, preparedness, and the discipline of continual improvement. When he said, “Success is not about being the best. It’s about always getting better,” it felt like a reflection of my own journey.

Fuqua hasn’t asked me to justify my age, my path, or my timing. Instead, it challenges me, supports me, and affirms that learning is lifelong and leadership continues to evolve. In doing so, it reinforced a simple but powerful truth: growth has no deadline, careers are not linear, and choosing to keep learning is not something you take from others. It’s something you claim for yourself.

I no longer ask permission to want more.