The MD Anderson Cancer Center Administrative Fellowship with Ashley Sekul
From Small-Town Roots to National Ambitions: Ashley’s Journey into Healthcare Administration
Why did Ashley Sekul choose the administrative route, and how did her background shape her leadership style?
Ashley Sekul’s path to the MD Anderson Cancer Center Administrative Fellowship started in the small-town warmth of Pensacola, Florida, and led her across the country—each stop adding a new dimension to her professional outlook.
“I really wanted a small-town feel… once I toured Ole Miss, I thought, this is just a place that feels like home where I can get to know everyone and not feel overwhelmed,” Ashley recalls about her undergrad choice. That experience in a close-knit academic environment not only grounded her but instilled a comfort with building relationships—a trait that later defined her leadership approach.
After earning her Biochemistry degree, Ashley gravitated toward Washington, D.C., for graduate school at George Washington University. “I mainly went for the location. I really wanted to be somewhere that had a large city…when you’re in DC, you have consulting, policy, insurance, and CMS,” she explains. The deliberate shift from rural Mississippi to the heart of U.S. healthcare policy reveals a theme in her journey: always seeking new perspectives, never shying away from complexity.
Pivoting from Premed to Administration: When Passion Meets Practicality
When did Ashley realize that healthcare administration, not medicine, was her calling?
Ashley’s early trajectory was classic premed: majoring in biochemistry, working as a scribe for a radiation oncologist in Dallas, and eyeing medical school. But within just a few months, her vision shifted. “It was actually only about three months of working as a scribe…and I think a lot of that had to do with working for a physician who was a female. Just hearing more about work-life balance, I started to wonder what this would look like for me,” she says.
Ashley didn’t abandon healthcare—she recalibrated her role in it. She recognized that she “needed to be in healthcare…surrounded by people who are driven by a mission of helping those who are sick.” But, as she put it, she also wanted the freedom to explore other interests: “I was a biochemistry major but a journalism minor, so I always just had this part of me that liked not just science—there was something more.”
This openness to self-discovery is emblematic of many future fellows and leaders who realize the best impact sometimes happens not at the bedside, but at the systems level.
Building a Multi-Dimensional Skill Set: The Value of Diverse Internships
How did Ashley’s internships across communications, policy, and engagement shape her approach to healthcare leadership?
One of the defining characteristics of competitive fellowship applicants is their depth and breadth of experience. Ashley’s resume stands out for its range—communications internships in health IT and with the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), a scribe position at Texas Presbyterian Cancer Center, and a graduate internship at UT Southwestern.
Her experience at PCORI was particularly formative. “I absolutely loved that internship…it was so interesting to understand how we are centering our research around patients and not just one hospital at a time, but maybe a consortium of hospitals focusing on the same project,” Ashley shares. Here, she learned to transform complex stories into accessible blogs—a skill she leverages today in the administrative world.
Similarly, her stint at Leavitt Partners in D.C. opened her eyes to health policy: “Within that internship I mainly focused on 340B drug impact—basically, how does that program impact drug pricing overall? I was able to help with the research on a white paper…attending hearings, summarizing them, really understanding what’s going on each day in Congress.”
Ashley’s approach? Don’t specialize too soon. Instead, sample the full menu:
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Communications and narrative-building
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Health IT
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Policy research
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Grant writing and engagement awards
This multi-disciplinary background gave Ashley the context to understand hospital systems in their broader societal and regulatory environments—an essential mindset for any future healthcare executive.
Why Choose an Administrative Fellowship at MD Anderson?
What sets the MD Anderson Cancer Center Administrative Fellowship apart, and why did Ashley choose this path?
Ashley is candid about her initial hesitation: “I was really indifferent about fellowships…nervous I would have to narrow it down to one area.” But her perception quickly shifted. “The fellowship’s the exact opposite. If you choose a fellowship, you get to experience so much within an organization that it’s going to feel like you’re getting to do a bunch of different internships.”
This variety is at the heart of the MD Anderson Cancer Center Administrative Fellowship. Rather than pigeonholing fellows into a single domain, the program exposes them to a broad swath of the enterprise:
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Operations
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Strategy
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Governmental relations
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Enterprise risk management
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Research and policy analysis
“Within the structure of my fellowship, I’m able to do six different things in a day or focus on one project for a week and then switch to a completely different area the next,” Ashley explains. This resonates with fellows who crave intellectual diversity and the ability to see the entire chessboard, not just a single piece.
The Hunger for Knowledge: Ashley’s Secret to Career Growth
How important is curiosity in succeeding as a fellow and beyond?
Ashley is clear: “The hunger for knowledge is something that keeps me going each day…I know that if I am getting bored in one area, I can ask to get a project in another.”
This relentless curiosity is not just a personality trait—it’s a professional survival strategy. Healthcare organizations increasingly value leaders who can move fluidly between departments, learn rapidly, and ask the questions no one else is asking.
Ashley’s advice? Don’t wait for permission to learn more. Proactively seek out new projects, volunteer for interdisciplinary teams, and “ask to sit in on that additional meeting… the worst that can happen is you get a ‘no.’” This approach accelerates learning and helps you build a leadership profile that’s as resilient as it is resourceful.
Real-World Projects: Applying Fellowship Experience to Enterprise Risk Management
What type of work do fellows actually do at MD Anderson, and how do these projects tie into long-term career goals?
As Ashley approaches the end of her 12-month generalist rotation, she’s preparing for a concentration in Enterprise Risk Management. Her project? “We’ve discussed doing a project that looks at pharmaceutical pricing and also supply chain costs—basically understanding what external factors are impacting those and building out a dashboard to mitigate this risk,” she details.
The connection to her policy background is explicit: “My Leavitt Partners experience inspired me to really like pharmaceutical pricing. I love to learn, so continuing to build upon my drug pricing knowledge and research how supply chain is being impacted is exciting.”
Key responsibilities of an MD Anderson fellow may include:
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Risk assessment and mitigation projects
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Data dashboard development
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White paper research and publication
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Cross-functional stakeholder engagement
For ambitious candidates, this hands-on exposure is a chance to work on real problems with measurable impact—setting you up for leadership roles post-fellowship.
Publishing and Professional Visibility: Why It Matters in Healthcare Administration
Is publishing important for administrative fellows and early-career healthcare leaders?
Ashley is unequivocal: “If you have a heart for any type of research or writing, looking to get published is something that can be very rewarding.” She’s been published multiple times, including a neuroscience paper for her undergraduate thesis, articles with PCORI, and contributions to 340B and graduate capstone white papers.
But Ashley emphasizes accessibility over perfection: “We’re trying to make [publishing] more accessible, a little bit easier so students don’t have to go through this intense methods section.” Her perspective aligns with a broader trend: journals and fellowships are now encouraging storytelling and thought leadership, not just technical research. Publishing isn’t just for academics—it’s a key way to influence practice, policy, and public perception.
Ashley also runs a motivational blog, Stay A While, underscoring her belief that “it’s always important that if you have thoughts that could benefit others…especially within healthcare, try to get published and put your knowledge out there.”
Time Management and Community: Thriving Amidst Multiple Commitments
How does Ashley manage her schedule and sustain engagement across so many interests?
Her answer is refreshingly honest: “The main thing I attribute it to is being an extrovert. As long as there’s some socialization going on, I’m willing to do it.” But personality aside, she relies on tactical planning. “I love to plan my day out, keep a calendar, keep a OneNote, and really put everything down on paper.”
For those balancing multiple commitments, Ashley recommends:
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Prioritizing relationships—“Find good people in whatever you’re doing; it makes it worth doing.”
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Embracing planning tools—digital or paper calendars, project management apps.
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Saying yes to new experiences, provided they align with your core values.
This people-centered, organized approach allows her to serve as a Regional Chair for the National Administrative Fellowship Network, contribute to MD Anderson’s collaborative culture, and pursue her personal writing—all while excelling as a fellow.
Key Takeaways: Lessons for Aspiring Fellows and Healthcare Leaders
The MD Anderson Cancer Center Administrative Fellowship stands as a model for programs that don’t just train managers, but cultivate adaptable, mission-driven leaders ready for the future of U.S. healthcare. Ashley Sekul’s journey is proof that diverse experience, a hunger for knowledge, and commitment to community aren’t just résumé-builders—they’re essential ingredients for lasting impact. As she puts it, “If you do have thoughts and things you want to put on paper that could benefit others…especially within the healthcare space, it’s extremely important to try to get published and put your knowledge out there.”
