Building a Career at North: One Team Member’s Incredible Path
Ability is defined as “the quality or state of being able to do something” – and North Memorial Health team member, Pengxue Moua (Peng for short), whose name means ‘ability’ in Hmong, has shown just how many things he is able to do in his many roles throughout North.
Initially, Peng wanted to pursue a career in Information Technology after graduation from high school – but after his father became ill and passed away, he stepped up to provide for his family financially and his career goals were paused.
At 19, Peng began his journey at North Memorial Health working as a dietary aid and patient escort before moving into Interpreter Services, where he worked for four years. The time he spent with Interpreter Services helped Peng realize how much he really enjoyed working in healthcare and that he didn’t want to leave North.
Finding Support from Team Members
With Interpreter Services just down the hall from IT, Peng began to strike up conversations over lunch with team members who worked in different areas of the IT department, asking questions like, “If you could change your career path or type of education, what would you choose? What do you think I need to focus on if I want to work in IT?” The answers he found to those questions are what kept Peng at North Memorial Health. His curiosity led him to meet with Jodi Heurung in IT, who sat down with him and asked what his career goals were and how she could help him get there. After learning about the tuition assistance programs available, Peng soon enrolled at Minneapolis College to begin studying software development.
Working as an interpreter during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic took a great deal of Peng’s energy, and he knew that in order to give his best effort to his job and studies, he needed to transition to a different role. His coursework qualified him to gain his Pharmacy Technician Certificate, which led Peng to a new area of expertise and growth. As his studies moved him closer to the finish line, Peng took another step forward in his career and joined the IT department as an intern.
A Full-Circle Moment
Peng is on track to graduate in December 2023 with a degree in Software Development from Minneapolis College – and he has reached his goal of joining the IT department as an application administrator on the Epic Security Access team.
North Memorial Health has been a place where Peng has flourished because of his tenacity and love for the work that he does. When asked why he chose to grow here, Peng shared, “North Memorial Health values people’s potential. They really love to promote from within, and that’s something that I appreciate. You don’t have to leave the organization to reach your goals, and it’s all just asking questions, having a conversation, asking team members to grab coffee and explain what they do here.”
Peng has moved through six different roles during his tenure, each bringing him a greater level of knowledge and insight into delivering healthcare in a meaningful way. So, what motivates Peng to stay?
“It’s the passion of helping others,” he says. “Waking up every day, I know that the work I do has a direct impact on people. I really get to see how important it is for each department and individual to work together and contribute to our shared goal of helping each patient.”