Roadrunner takes flight

Jessica Flores-Faisal never intended to go to college.

“When I was in high school, I didn’t really think about pursuing higher education,” she said.

The 28-year-old, who was born in Mexico and adopted and raised in Aurora, joined the Air Force Reserves at age 17. She has spent nearly a decade in the military.

Today, she has her bachelor’s degree in Health Care Management from Metropolitan State University of Denver and is working toward her master’s degree with the University while stationed in Germany. She credits MSU Denver for meeting her where she was: passionate about her experience in the military and looking for a career where she would be able to grow her service in new directions.

Flores-Faisal initially pursued a degree in Mechanical Engineering at a different college but ultimately decided the program didn’t align with her passions. She transferred to MSU Denver because it offered a bachelor’s degree in Health Care Management. Once enrolled, she found that the smaller class sizes and interaction with professors was more personal, which was especially important with remote classes.

Flores-Faisal wants to be a health care administrator in the Air Force but said getting chosen for that duty is very competitive. So after finishing her bachelor’s degree this past May, she began the master’s program in Health Administration at MSU Denver.

She also became the first student to pursue the University’s Aging Services Digital Badge, which is visible on her LinkedIn profile with live links to the coursework she completed. Digital badges, a form of microcredentialing, are electronic icons that students can put on digital résumés to acknowledge the attainment of a specific skill set.

“I wanted to continue that knowledge of aging services and bring that awareness to other individuals,” she said, “especially because the older population is continuing to grow.”

Flores-Faisal is well on her way to being selected for the Medical Service Corps Program — a group of administrators and executives within the Air Force’s health care system.

ALUMNA JESSICA FLORES-FAISAL,

A GRAD STUDENT AND AIR FORCE

SECOND LIEUTENANT, HAS HER

SIGHTS SET ON A FUTURE IN HEALTH

CARE ADMINISTRATION.

PORTRAIT

CONNECT