Business in Healthcare Club founder and President Velin Georgiev strives to provide club members with opportunities for both professional development and community building. Photo by Grace Hensley.
JACK WILLIAMS | STAFF REPORTER | jrwilliams@butler.edu
Members of the Butler community are achieving extraordinary things, both on and off campus. From first-years to alumni to administrators and back, each Bulldog has a story to tell. Read on to discover the next of our Bulldogs of Butler through a Q&A style interview.
Mentors who can help students navigate the complex web of college majors and career paths are an invaluable resource. Velin Georgiev, a senior healthcare & business major, recognized the power of mentorship when he became the founder and president of Butler’s Business in Healthcare Club. His own experience entering the field of healthcare and business became a roadmap to guide underclassmen through a multitude of career options via community events and guest speakers.
The Butler Collegian: Can you give a brief description of what Business in Healthcare Club is?
Velin Georgiev: We are a relatively new student organization whose goal is to bring together people who are interested in learning more about healthcare, [and not only] the clinical aspect of it. We bring in guest speakers from different industries within healthcare to come in and discuss their careers and experiences.
The club is open to anyone at Butler but was created with the intention of [meeting] the needs of healthcare & business majors. When I got on campus, I noticed that there wasn’t a club for that specific [group]. That’s where it all started from.
TBC: What opportunities do students gain access to by joining Business in Healthcare Club?
VG: Whenever anyone thinks of healthcare, we automatically think of doctors, PAs and those clinical roles. However, there’s so much more out there. [There are] so many different careers that we may not be aware of. As a high school student, I was thinking of pursuing the pre-med route. However, I learned that the healthcare and business side may be more appropriate for my strengths and my desires. We help bring that knowledge [of career options] to our members and the Butler community through guest speakers. Mentorship is another part of our identity that we would like to develop further, especially having upperclassmen take in underclassmen and answer [their] questions.
TBC: What are some highlights from the past events and activities that you have hosted?
VG: This year we brought in a variety of guest speakers. One of our first events was with Eli Lilly. They talked about pricing reimbursement and market access, [which is] a pretty popular business department of theirs. We brought in Myers and Stauffer, which is a local accounting firm that deals with government accounting and works with Medicaid and Medicare. We’ve also had a speaker come to talk about personal branding, how to build a network and how to leverage LinkedIn for an internship search.
This upcoming semester we actually have a hospital CEO coming in, which I’m very excited [about]. We’ll also have a medical device sales representative from Roche join us. [These opportunities] are all thanks to the Butler community. I am thankful for the support I’ve received from alumni, professors and my executive team.
TBC: Are there any particular professions or speakers you would like to host in the future?
VG: We try to bring in people from a variety of industries [while] catering to the interests of our members. Some areas I’d like to explore are insurance, biotechnology [and] healthcare law.
TBC: Where would you like to see the club five years from now?
VG: This club has been my passion project. It’s been my baby for the past two years. As a senior, I’m graduating [soon], so it’s time to pass the torch on to my new executive team. In five years, I definitely want to see Business in Healthcare Club still up and running. I would like for it to continue to grow and prosper and really develop itself within the vision I have but also to take into consideration new thoughts and ideas.
TBC: How can students get involved?
VG: People can find us on Instagram @bhcbutler, where we have a link to register for our upcoming events. We generally meet bi-weekly on Thursdays at 7 p.m.. Students can register to [become] a member by joining our Listserv and following us on Butler Engage.
