Coming To Terms With Type 1 Diabetes by Debbie Young

When she later returned to work, she went from part-time medical receptionist at a physician’s practice to full-time ophthalmology technician at Einstein, each time propelled to the next level by managers who appreciated her work. Young quit school when she was 18, got married and had children. If I only knew earlier what I was capable of, I would have done this a long time ago.” “Once I started taking classes, something woke up in me,” she says. The classes not only offered Young the opportunity to complete her education, but they awakened a thirst for knowledge and a capacity for learning she didn’t know she had. “As tiring as it was for me to work my eight- to 10-hour days, I’d drive home, take off my day clothes, put on my pajamas and fire up my laptop,” she says. With student loans and financial aid from Einstein, she started taking courses at DeVry University in 2015.

No matter that Young is now 57, a mother and grandmother, the caretaker of her own ailing mother, and has a full-time job. She always wanted to be in the medical field and, after getting her GED, started taking college classes at night. Young is now the practice manager of the Department of Ophthalmology at Einstein Medical Center Philadelphia and Einstein Medical Center Elkins Park.

Her dedication and work ethic gathered mentors along the way – and that has proven lucky, too. She was a high school dropout who took jobs that were a stretch, and grew into them. They’re stand-outs with spirit and strength and stand-ins for all the women of Einstein Healthcare Network.įor most of her life, Debbie Young has made her own luck. This is the third in a special series of Einstein Untold profiles in celebration of Women’s History Month.

Coming To Terms With Type 1 Diabetes by Debbie Young