In each issue of the circle, we will highlight a specific alumna to find out in detail what she is doing. This issue’s victim is Laura Barkman Smith.
the circle:
What has your life been like since you left Duke and
OOTB?
Laura Barkman Smith: After graduating in 1990 I lived
in Durham and worked for a year at Rex Hospital in
Raleigh as secretary to the CIO. I was burned out on
school and wanted to take some time off before grad
school. Todd was finishing up the MAT program at Duke. I
applied to grad school all over the place and Todd
applied for jobs in all the same places - we both got
offers in St. Louis, so that's where we headed in fall
1991. I enrolled in the Health Administration Program at
Washington University at St. Louis (part of the medical
school) to pursue my MHA, and Todd taught social studies,
coached football, and built sets for the drama club at
Kirkwood High School. When I graduated in ‘93, we
moved to Boston so I could do my administrative residency
at Beth Israel Hospital. We got married in July 1993 -
Kim Kredich wrote us a beautiful song ("My Heart is
Full") that she, Debbie Heinrich, and a friend of
mine from elementary school premiered at the wedding.
After my residency, I was hired by Beth Israel's
Marketing and Planning Department to help plan,
implement, and market the then non-existing primary care
network. I am still working there after 3 years, and the
job has continued to get larger and more interesting.
Since I started, BI's network has grown to include almost
200 doctors, and Beth Israel merged with Deaconess
Hospital (we're now Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center)
and became a founding member of a regional healthcare
system called CareGroup. I now work for the corporate
marketing dept. as well as the hospital, and get to do
all sorts of interesting things like competitive analyses
and due diligence before mergers and aquisitions, and
network strategic planning.
I would say that the last year has been the most eventful
of my life so far. In April 1996 we bought our first
house in North Reading MA, after at least 6 (agonizing!)
months of looking. We didn't move in until June, because
we did a lot of work on it beforehand - ripped out old
carpet and had hardwood floors refinished; stripped
wallpaper and repainted every room on the first floor of
the house. Not even 2 weeks after moving in, I got
pregnant! This knowledge triggered a frenzy of other
house improvements that we might have put off - we gutted
and redid the upstairs (paid someone to do this - it was
a nightmare), and did a lot of various
"domino-effect" stuff that inevitably results
from starting any project where inspections are involved.
Our house still isn't the way we ultimately would like
it, but I think we've figured out it will never be
perfect. And we have far more important things to worry
about now, namely....
EVAN! He arrived on March 12, 1997. I really enjoyed
being pregnant (contrary to what Todd might tell you
about my bad days) - at least after 3 1/2 months when I
stopped feeling sick all the time, and before the very
last month, when my fingers and ankles swelled up like
balloons. But let me tell you it is completely worth it.
I don't know if I'll ever again feel the total joy of my
very first glimpse and feel of Evan as he was placed on
my chest right after being born. We've been enthralled
with him ever since - we are totally boring to other
people because we are convinced he is the cutest baby
ever to grace the planet. I knew I would love motherhood
but nothing really prepared me for the completeness of
the love I feel for him. It still amazes me that I am
someone's mother!
