Health Admin Student Reaches Her Goal With SJNY Online

Sharon Dalzell, 61, earns a B.S. in Health Administration from SJNY Online in 2023

haron Dalzell was 57 when she decided to enter the world of higher education and earn a bachelor’s degree — just for the personal satisfaction of it.

“I never attended college before,” said Ms. Dalzell, now 61. “I always wanted to go back to school, so I Googled St. Joseph’s and the decision was made.”

Ms. Dalzell, who lives in Brooklyn but grew up in Guyana, graduated in January with a bachelor’s degree in health administration from St. Joseph’s University, New York’s Online Campus.

Earning this degree means more to Ms. Dalzell than just reaching a goal — it’s confirmation of her ability to fight back and be successful in the face of a challenge. It’s proof that she was helpful when she felt helpless.

“Thirty years ago, my daughter fell ill with transverse myelitis and was left paralyzed,” Ms. Dalzell said of her eldest daughter, Andrea. “I felt helpless.”

Ms. Dalzell, who worked in finance for 20 years, went back to school to become a certified billing and coding specialist.

“After I got a denial for a medical necessity service for Andrea, I was able to fight back and be successful,” she said. “Once I understood the ins and outs of medical billing and coding, there was no looking back.”

Now, Ms. Dalzell works as a financial clearance specialist at New York Presbyterian Hospital, where she helps ensure other patients don’t experience the same denial she and her daughter did.

In addition to returning to college to get a degree in health administration, Ms. Dalzell and her daughter also turned their heartache into helping others by becoming advocates for individuals with physical disabilities.

“When Andrea started college, she started to speak up about the disadvantages of being a student with a disability and the accessibility of her college,” Ms. Dalzell said of her daughter, who has used a wheelchair since she was 12.

Ms. Dalzell and her daughter attended a Roll on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., to lobby for accessibility, not only in the higher education sector but also in private sector job markets; Andrea was told by some that she shouldn’t become a nurse because of her disability.

“She was told she would be considered a liability in all places of healthcare services,” Ms. Dalzell said. “She became a BSN RN in January of 2018, and she now holds a master’s in nursing education.

“She has brought awareness with regard to how inaccessible many schools, doctors’ offices, restaurants, parks, colleges and more are,” she added.