When I was hired to work in my university's hospital system, I was nervous. I've been around people in the healthcare field my entire life; my mom runs a trauma department in my hometown and my boyfriend is a firefighter/EMT who is getting ready to attend paramedic school. To me, being a part of working in healthcare was special and important. A year and a half later, I've found that and so much more to be true.

I work as a patient services representative at a women's and children's hospital. In other words, I take insurance and demographics from patients so we have all their information on file. Seems boring, right? Wrong.

I've seen more than my fair share of difficult and happy situations. I've witnessed the grief a family goes through when their loved one unexpectedly dies. I've walked around the NICU and seen dozens of babies all alone, just waiting for their bodies to work correctly so they can go home. I've wished laboring moms good luck as I walk them up to the room where their baby will be born. I've helped push kids in wheelchairs up to our pediatric unit while they cried, wishing they could go home and play with their friends like a normal kid.

Working in the frontline of a hospital has opened my eyes to many things, the most important lesson being that everyone struggles. I've talked through how to get insurance to mothers who doesn't have the money to enroll their children but want them to have good healthcare. I have put older couples at ease when they come in frustrated that some else didn't load their insurance right.

Being part of a hospital system is the definition of responsibility, regardless of how unimportant you may think your position is. When I first got my job, I thought I was just the lowly registration girl who annoyed everyone by reminding them they have to pay a copay. Now, I know that the way I present myself and my hospital can literally change the day of someone who has to be stuck in a place they may not want to be.

This job has made me realize that I want my future to always be in healthcare. As a journalism major, I thought, "How the heck can I do that?" Now going into my junior year, I decided to start with my emphasis area in public relations, eventually using it to be a healthcare strategic communicator.

I guess the lesson that being part of an amazing hospital has taught me this: No matter how small your role, no matter how unimportant you think you are, you can make the biggest difference in someone's day, whether it be by putting their mind at ease about something or giving them the time of day to make a conversation.