Today we’d like to introduce you to Sarah Hubert.
Sarah, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
My journey started out when I was in 4th grade. I had always grown up in dance since the age of 3. At the age of nine, I started in competitive cheerleading with my two childhood friends Jill Frost and Ashley Frick. It was at that moment that my love of activity, sports and health was planted. As my love for cheerleading grew over the years, so did my love for health. As my high school years came to a close, I decided to continue to pursue my passion for health at Texas A&M University where I studied nutrition. After completing my Bachelor’s degree, I accepted a dietetic internship which resulted in my achievement of a Master’s degree in nutrition from Texas Woman’s University. After completing my Master’s work, I began my career as a dietitian in neonatal ICU. This is where my heart first found its passion for pediatric medicine.
Outside of my career, my passion for fitness blossomed outside of the hospital. In 2007 I trained for and ran my first half marathon. Later, in 2008, I took on my first triathlon! Shortly after that, I ran my first marathon in 2009. It was a busy three years of training and fitness, that was made even more meaningful by turning my passion for health and fitness into a greater good – raising funds and awareness for non-profit organizations that held a special place in my heart. During one of my marathons, I was honored to run in the name of one of my friend’s mothers who was in desperate need of a double lung transplant. I took on the race with her situation heavy on my heart. With the support of numerous donors, our team was able to raise significant funds for organ donation awareness and services, which hopefully helped to impact many lives in my community. This is what made this experience so special for me – my ability to participate in the health and fitness community that I love, and turn those experiences into impactful help for others who are not so fortunate.
As my journey continued, I decided to take a big risk in my professional career. In 2012, after 6 years of working as a clinical dietitian, I went back to school to become a physician assistant. After two long years of balancing a job and my studies, I received a Masters in Physician Assistant Studies and started my new career in pediatric general surgery! In my first role during my new gig, I met an amazing doctor who had such a tremendous philanthropic soul – Dr. Ashwin Pimpalwar. Dr. Pimpalwar had devoted much of his time and skills to serve those in need through medical missions in developing countries, especially India. As we continued to work together, and I grew more interested in his work abroad, he invited me to join him on a medical mission trip to India. Without hesitation I accepted and purchased my ticket to Nagpur, India to join the team as first assistant in the operating room. During the trip our team was able to perform 32 surgeries on children in desperate need of medical attention. The experience left such an impact on my life, as I simply fell in love with the children that we were privileged to serve in India. These children, with medical conditions so debilitating, had so much life and joy. It amazed me how high their spirits and outlook could be, despite so many trials and tribulations in their lives.
My career as a PA continued to grow, and as I turned attention back to my personal life I met my future husband, Jarrett Hubert, in May of 2015. One think that initially attracted me to Jarrett was his dashing good looks and servant’s heart – mainly seen through his passion for giving back in the world of athletics. Shortly after we started dating, Jarrett co-founded a Houston-based non for profit with several local triathletes known as CATAPULT. The organization was founded to assist physically challenged athletes accomplish their athletic dreams and goals. Their motto is simple – if there is a finish line, CATAPULT will help you find it! Throughout CATAPULT’s first three years as an organization they have helped over 75 athletes achieve their goals through coaching, funding and like-minded motivation. CATAPULT has created a sense of community that I have loved being a part of as a guide, health services chair and gala co-chair. My love for health, community and giving back through sport has been truly enhanced by my involvement in CATAPULT.
Through my many adventures with Team CATAPULT I have met so many amazing and inspirational athletes and people. One such person was Andrea Croak who is the director of an organization very similar to CATPAULT in Boston called Team With a Vision. Andrea was an integral part of Boston’s chapter of an amazing charity called PabLove. PabLove is an outstanding nonprofit that utilizes the arts to raise funds for children with pediatric cancers. Through a program called Shutterbugs, PabLove showcases photography created by these same kids who are suffering from such horrible illnesses. This creates a sense of community, and funding, for pediatric cancer research. In 2018 PabLove kicked off a Houston Chapter, which I have been so honored to help get started and be a part of right here in my own backyard! Through my experiences in both CATPULT, and now PabLove, I have met so many amazing athletes, people and children affected in ways that are unimaginable. My work and my own personal outlook, has been magnified by these amazing organizations who are creating a sense of community for so many and accomplishing wonderful things.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Looking back now, the transition to change careers at the age of 30 was definitely challenging, but worth every obstacle. In the end, my career development has allowed me to take my passion for patients and health to a personal level through my involvement in numerous nonprofit organizations and my day job. Along the way, this journey, and these obstacles, built character, patience and helped me to grow as a professional and a person. All of my experiences along my journey have been eye opening and humbling. I recall one of those humbling experiences – walking into my first class as I started PA school in 2012. I stepped into the classroom with my friend and we busted out our three-ring notebooks, colored pens and highlighters. We settled in to the class ready to learn! As we looked around we noticed everyone else in the class was opening up their laptops and vigorously typing away. I felt a little like Elle Woods from Legally Blonde! It was quite comical at the time, but it forced me to realize to embrace each situation and new beginning with an open mind, and to even laugh a little about things. That is one piece of advice I would absolutely give young women starting their journey – laugh, be open to new adventures, and don’t take yourself too seriously.
Another obstacle that I learned so much from happened very recently to me. This was an obstacle that I had to overcome in my own personal life as it related to my own health and fitness. I have always been a dedicated athlete, giving my all to my own training and fitness goals. In 2016 I registered for my first Ironman. I was so excited to take on this journey and I dreamt of the finish line almost nightly! I diligently trained for the race, putting in hours on the swim, bike and run. As race day neared, I felt a constant pain in my knee. I pushed it out of my mind, assuming it was probably just some tight muscles or maybe even nerves and phantom pain. Well, it was neither of those things. As race morning arrived I pushed the negativity out of my head regarding my pain. I could do this! It would simply go away as the race began and the adrenaline rush set in. Sadly, I was mistaken. At mile 90 of the bike ride my pain became so unbearable that I could no longer continue with the race. I had to drop out of the event and be transported back to the start line. Several days later, after numerous sleepless nights with pain, I was diagnosed with a broken hip. Yup, I had been diagnosed with the same hip fracture as my 90 year old grandmother! As I later found out, the injury started as a small stress fracture, and then developed into a full on fracture as I continued to train through the pain. So ladies the lesson learned here is quite simple – LISTEN TO YOUR BODY ALWAYS! Stop if your body says stop, and realize that missing one shining moment could force you to miss a year’s worth of shining moments if you try to ‘tough it out’! Luckily I was able to fully rehab my injury, and in October 2018 I will be able to guide a dear friend of mine, Maribel Vasquez in a half Ironman triathlon! Maribel is a CATAPULT athlete from San Diego who is visually impaired. I will serve as her eyes during the race. It is such an honor to not only come back from this injury, but now be able to bring it full circle and help others through my love for health and fitness.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Pablove, UTHealth, Children’s Memorial Hermann, and Catapult – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
We all know that saying, “find something you love to do and you’ll never have to work a day in your life”. Well, lucky for me, I have been able to live that expression since joining the Pediatric Neurosurgery Team as a Physician Assistant at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth. We primarily provide patient care and services at Children’s Memorial Herman Hospital. My passion has truly come to live working on this team. I am surrounded by the best minds in the business, who not only are the foremost expert matters in their field, but also have an amazing passion for what they do every day. I am so fortunate to be around that passion and live it in my daily work routine.
I am proud of so many things that my team works on. One thing that really sticks out to me is our work in pediatric brain tumor research. We are constantly finding new and innovative ways to cure this terrible illness impacting so many kids. In addition, we also provide patient care and surgeries for some other life impacting ailments – such as in utero spina bifida repair and selective dorsal rhizotomy. In these procedures, we are able to give children who are victims of spinal cord and nervous system disorders a greater chance of walking and improved quality of life. These procedures are groundbreaking and our organization has been the leader in these types of surgeries. Clearly there are tough times in this field, but luckily everyone that I work with genuinely cares for and gives the best treatments for our patients.
There’s a wealth of academic research that suggests that lack of mentors and networking opportunities for women has materially affected the number of women in leadership roles. Smart organizations and industry leaders are working to change this, but in the meantime, do you have any advice for finding a mentor and building a network?
I have been very blessed. There are two particular women who have inspired me both professionally and personally. The first is Cathy Montgomery. This lady is phenomenal. She and I met in 2006 when I first started off as a dietician and she was my leader. She guided me, pushed me and embraced my accomplishments and humbled me when improvement was needed. I went through a pretty big personal life change close to completing PA school and she was there every step of the way. She called, texted. emailed regularly, asking how I was, what she could do, or just had an ear for me to talk to her and reminding me that good things are to come always and character is built through trials.
The second is Leah Bayliss. Not only did I get lucky with Cathy, I was then sent to Leah. Leah is charismatic, smart, hilarious, and a wonderful friend. I met Leah when I was in PA school and she was my preceptor. She immediately captivated me. She was an incredible teacher, pushing me to be the best PA I could be. That preceptorship blossomed into a forever friendship (though I still want to be like her when I grow up).
My best advice to is get to know people. Like, really get to know them. And remember everyone has a story that can help you in any aspect of your life. Take the time to it down, grab coffee or chat and get to know that person. The most precious thing you can give people is your time, because you can never get it back and you may even meet a person that will impact your life in ways you could only imagine.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.teamcatapult.org/ and https://www.pablove.org/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/team_catapult/?hl=en, https://www.instagram.com/pablovefoundation/?hl=en
- Other: https://www.uth.edu/ , http://childrens.memorialhermann.org/
Image Credit:
Ironman Costa Rica, PabLove
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