Each year, the VCU Department of Health Administration intentionally pairs new students with alumni mentors to guide them through their studies, residencies and beyond. 

For second-year Master of Health Administration student Delaney Stratton, mentorship hasn’t merely been an added value to her education, but an integral part of it.

“This mentorship has easily been a highlight of my MHA experience,” Stratton said. Beyond industry insight, the program has offered what she described as “a structure and safeguard for students and young careerists who are navigating the total uncertainty of health administration and professional executive development.”

While networking, department leaders often ask alumni whether they would be willing to mentor a first-year student and offer regular guidance based on their own educational and career experiences. Once a pairing is made, both mentor and mentee are expected to follow simple guidelines: meet a certain number of times per term, come prepared with questions and the like.

Early on, the department leaders identified Stratton’s passion for end-of-life care and the emotional toll her job at the local morgue took on her. She was paired with Ashland Evans (MHA ’13), a strategy and operations executive with more than a decade of leadership experience in hospice and end-of-life care.

The two connected immediately. Evans quickly inspired Stratton to become a hospice volunteer — which provided exactly the relief she needed from her job.

“It has made such an impact on my mental health, because now I get to support individuals before they reach death's doorstep and then come into my line of work here at the morgue,” Stratton said.

“We are kindred spirits,” added Evans, currently president and chief executive officer of Mount Evans Home Health Care & Hospice in Evergreen, Colo. “What’s amazing is we’ve never met in person, but I feel like if we were to see each other tomorrow, it would be as if we had just literally had a hug the day before.”

As Stratton progressed through her studies and prepared for the highly competitive administrative residency search, the relationship grew beyond thefrom structured, scheduled conversations expected of participants into something more dynamic. She recalls moments when the stakes felt overwhelming, including her decision between residencies on opposite sides of the country.

“I was in Las Vegas in a total panic,” she said. “But Ash helped realign me with who I really am, what I really wanted to do, and the impact I wanted to make.”

With Evans’ steady guidance, Stratton ultimately secured a residency placement she describes as her top choice. “He has shaped the trajectory of my career,” she said. “I could not have made so many hard decisions in confidence without him supporting me and cheering me on.”

For Evans, being called in during those pivotal moments affirmed the purpose of mentorship. “I was so proud of her that she thought of me and wanted to ask my opinion,” he said.

Both mentor and mentee say their bond is rooted not only in personality alignment, but also in a mutual commitment to service.

“Most of those that serve in healthcare administration are called to serve in a way that feels greater than themselves,” Stratton said. “You’re never going to regret spending time giving back to others.”

Evans adds that his and Stratton’s “humble beginnings” have kept them oriented toward their ultimate goal to serve: “We want to give back to our communities because of what they’ve given to us.” He looks forward to crossing paths with Stratton professionally, noting that he “could be asking Delaney for a job in five years.”