Take your career to the next level at Intermountain Health

At Intermountain, our caregivers are in the driver's seat of their career - and we're their co-pilot! We're proud to offer a wide range of resources and support to help our caregivers grow their career and develop their skills.

Shauntel Gonzalez used her resources as a caregiver to get the skills and support she needed to advance her career.?

Shauntel joined Intermountain in 2012 as a communication specialist with the Design and Print Center. At the time, she was getting back into the workforce after a few years away and didn’t have her degree yet. ?

“I was one class away from my associate degree but then moved to Texas for my (now) husband. I thought I could finish school down there, but my credits didn’t all transfer and I had to almost start all over.”?

By 2019, Shauntel had moved into an operations role in the Print Center, her kids were old enough to be more independent, and she was eager to go back to school and earn her degree. Some of her colleagues had a good experience at Western Governor’s University, and it sounded like the perfect option. ?

“I was able to take advantage of the tuition reimbursement program. Being a mom and a wife, finances are always a worry, so it was so nice to know that Intermountain was willing to invest in my education.”?

There was just one problem. After several years back in the workforce, she was having a hard time deciding which path to take in her career. “I have always had a love of business. In high school, I took eighth place nationally in a Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) Competition. In my high school yearbook, I wrote that I wanted to be a VP one day. At the same time, I have always had a very creative spirit and enjoy taking an idea and bringing it to life through design.”?

Shauntel pursued a bachelor's degree in marketing management and got involved in the Discover Leadership program at Intermountain. After graduation, she was again torn between two paths: Go after a management position in supply chain or apply for an open specialist position on the enterprise communications team. Shauntel needed to understand where her interests and values aligned, so she took advantage of her Discover Leadership opportunities to work with Samila Decaria, a talent and career development specialist.?

“Samila was instrumental in helping me make my decision. She never told me what to do but helped me ask myself the right questions to discover what my passion really was.”?

Shauntel chose to apply for the communications role and got it. “Even though it wasn’t necessarily a move upward, it was one of the best decisions I ever made. You know when you just finally find ‘your people’ and a place where you feel like you’re at home? That’s what this move was for me.”?

Shauntel still wants to pursue a leadership position and looks forward to continuing to learn and grow. When she needs a reminder that she’s in charge of her career, she recalls a poem shared during an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) mindfulness class:?

This is It by Lao-Tzu

Always we hope someone else has the answer.

Some other place will be better,

some other time it will all turn out.

This is it. No one else has the answer.

No other place will be better,

and it has already turned out.

At the center of your being you have the answer; you know who you are and you know what you want.

There is no need

to run outside

for better seeing.

Nor to peer from a window.

Rather abide at the center of your being;

for the more you leave it

the less you learn.?