September 15-October 15 is Hispanic Heritage Month.
Originally born in Pinar Del Rio, Cuba, USF College of Public Health (COPH) alumna Alicia Gomez Fuego grew up in a small town outside of the city called San Luis. Her home sat on a small farm where large quantities of tobacco were planted and livestock raised.
“I grew up surrounded by family. My dad left Cuba on a makeshift raft to the United States in search of a better life. I was four years old at the time” Gomez Fuego said. “Luckily, he survived and was able to move to Tampa after arriving in Galveston, Texas in 1994.”
At almost 10 years old, Gomez Fuego said she didn’t realize the hardships the family faced until coming to the United States.
“At the time, I didn’t understand why we were coming the U.S. to be with my dad and why he couldn’t simply move back to Cuba to be with us,” she said. “Little did I realize that his actions helped shape our lives more than we could ever imagine.”
Today, her father, Dr. Joaquin Gomez-Daspet, is now the director of the endocrinology fellowship at the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine and the chief of endocrinology at the James A. Haley Veteran’s Hospital. Last year, Gomez Fuego and her father were featured for Hispanic Heritage Month in a video special made by Tampa General Hospital (TGH).
Alicia Gomez Fuego, and her father filmed the video special focused on telling the story of her family, and the American dream. (Photo courtesy of Gomez Fuego)
“Since both of my parents were physicians in Cuba, our family assumed my brother and I would also be clinical in some capacity. I volunteered in health care settings in high school, so when I initially started college, I thought I wanted to be a nurse. Once I began taking courses and spending time in clinics, I realized it was not for me.”
When she made the decision to switch majors, Gomez Fuego said the public health minor was an opportunity for her to blend her passion for health in a different manner.
“By completing that minor and expanding my volunteering to include provider clinics, I was able to better define my career path forward,” she said.
Gomez Fuego earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology with a minor in public health from USF in December 2011.
“I loved my experience at USF as an undergrad and the courses I took for my public health minor, so it was an easy decision to continue at the COPH for my master’s degree,” she said.
Gomez Fuego said she applied for the MHA degree but was initially accepted into the MPH program with a concentration in health care administration due to her lack of business courses in her undergraduate degree.
“I studied hard, actively participated in courses and thankfully accomplished my goal within my first two semesters and transitioned into the MHA program,” she said.
Gomez Fuego pointed to her professor and cohort for making an impact on her journey.
“My advisor for my special project, Dr. John Petrila, who was the chair of the Department of Health Policy and Management at that time, was a very knowledgeable and kind professor,” she said. “He taught health law, and it easily became one of my favorite courses in the program. I still have the book!”
“We also had a great cohort,” said Gomez Fuego. “At the time, most of the other members had successful careers and were returning for their master’s degree, and in some cases their second. It was a great opportunity for me to learn from them and understand how our program impacted the work they were doing in the real world.”
During her time as a student, Gomez Fuego began working at Moffitt Cancer Center as a research assistant.
“We worked on a study that aimed to learn why more aggressive forms of breast cancer are diagnosed in Black/African American women,” she said.
In May 2014, Gomez Fuego earned her MHA degree and began her professional career at Tampa General Hospital (TGH) in human resources.
“I believe that public health is a right for all and building programs around our community to enhance these offerings is a true passion of mine,” she said. “That’s one of the reasons I love working at TGH— our consistent commitment to our community and its residents!"
Alicia Gomez Fuego (second from right) with her COPH cohort on graduation day. (Photo courtesy of Gomez Fuego)
When she first started at TGH, Gomez Fuego worked in roles to support provider and staff recruitment, and then compensation. The next five years she worked in team member relations.
“I was fortunate to be involved in multiple projects that allowed me to expand my HR knowledge outside of my roles at the time,” she said. “My current role blends all aspects of HR to support my areas and allows me the ability to utilize all those skillsets into one position.”
Currently, Gomez Fuego is a senior human resources business partner for corporate services and ambulatory operations at TGH.
“My role is to align our people and talent resources and strategies to ensure the leaders and team members are able to achieve their strategic goals and team member initiatives.”
For the future, Gomez Fuego said her goal is to keep learning, remain curious and be a supportive partner to her colleagues.
“TGH is growing very rapidly and I’m sure some of that will lead to our roles expanding and changing, so I’m hoping to evolve in my role as well.”
“One of the things I learned at the COPH which still has a profound impact on my life today is to remain curious and remain a lifelong learner,” she said. “Regardless of your role or degrees, those two qualities are essential to success in the ever-changing world we live in both personally and professionally.”
Fast Five:
What did you dream of becoming when you were young?
An anthropologist or archeologist but when I was even younger, a mermaid!
Where would we find you on the weekend?
Spending time with our mini golden doodle, Raiden, and my fiancé, Dan. We love going
out to eat, the movies and spending time with our families on weekends.
What is the last book you read?
“Normal People” by Sally Rooney
What superpower would you like to have?
Healing people
What’s your all-time favorite movie?
I have so many--the first I think of is Forrest Gump.