Ebrahim Rezk “Abe” Al Quhshi could be anywhere right now. Born in Yemen and raised for a time in Sudan, he moved to New York City as a youngster before eventually finding his way to Greenville. He’s a 2020 graduate of South Central High School in Winterville, and in May, expects to graduate from ECU with a business degree in management information systems (MIS).
His next move might be the most surprising yet. He may stay put.
Ebrahim Rezk “Abe” Al Quhshi, shown here with his ECU Health supervisor, Tasha Sears, and Sabrina Sims, the health system’s vice president of revenue cycle, was offered a job at the end of his work-study program. “His work ethic is excellent,” Sears says. “I didn’t have to treat him any differently from my other employees.” (Joe Barta for ECU Health)
This summer, Al Quhshi was a part of a pioneering school-to-office pipeline that connected 19 students to high-growth employers across eastern North Carolina through the federal work-study program. It introduced students to a rich spectrum of career opportunities in our region. It also helped them apply their classroom learning in real-world settings, building confidence along with the competencies needed to become workforce-ready professionals.
Developed by Dr. Melanie Fiona Jackson, director of Innovative Workforce Partnerships inside ECU’s Office of Research, Economic Development and Engagement, in close collaboration with Student Employment and Financial Aid, the initiative is the latest way the university is co-developing talent with industry partners such as ECU Health, the region’s largest health system and employer.
“When we talk about strengthening the regional economy, this is what it looks like in action,” she said. “Students like Abe are proof-of-concept.”
The students were assigned roles around the health system, including talent acquisition, workforce development and finance. Al Quhshi was placed in an entry-level human resources role, but after a few days, he gently pointed out that, as an MIS major in the College of Business, the work didn’t strongly draw on his education.
“He said, ‘I don’t think this is going to connect to anything I’m studying,’ so, after two days, he got moved,” says Tavis Richardson, a recruitment outreach program manager with ECU Health. “I love that we can do this! This is what we’re after at ECU Health, to create pipelines to the university, to expose these students to the opportunities at ECU Health so they’re not leaving eastern North Carolina.”
Al Quhshi slid over to a customer-facing position in the revenue cycle department and loved it immediately. He was so hard-working and curious, prepared and charming that when the 13-week program sunset, the health system moved to hire him.
“Once you understand how a big organization works, it can shape your future career,” he says. “It’s helped me have an idea where I want to be and what type of work I want.”
‘That Light Flickering and That Energy’
The full-time opening was adjusted so that his workweek could make room for classes and school obligations. Today, he hustles to work first thing in the morning, often leaves for classes, then returns.
In the spring, Abe Al Quhshi will receive his diploma and begin his career, and today, he has a jumpstart with a full-time job at ECU Health. “I feel fortunate being an ECU student. I have received all the help I need.” (Joe Barta for ECU Health)
“I don’t have any more time for friends and, like, stuff,” he laughs, “but when I get paid I forget about all that.”
“His department really wanted to make him part of the team,” Richardson said, and “it was easier for us to bring him on board as a team member because of the program.”
Hiring qualified, educated professionals is an expensive proposition. According to the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), employers in the U.S. will spend about $5,500 on average for a single non-executive hire this year.
Students in a federal work‑study program (FWS) such as Al Quhshi are often offered jobs at higher rates than their non-FWS peers. These jobs are partly paid by federal or state funds, so employers have lower net cost to invest in these trial relationships. And in the end, employers become familiar, often fond of these junior associates.
Sabrina Sims is the health system’s vice president of revenue cycle. When asked about Al Quhshi and the perception of work-study students as well-educated but untried next to coworkers with years of experience, she waved it away.
Sure, she looks for experience, but do “they still have that light flickering and that energy that a college student’s going to have coming out, trying to get into the professional world to see if they can apply their studies? Because I want that.”
In Al Quhshi’s case, his immediate supervisor, Tasha Sears, says competence and reliability were never in doubt.
“From the front end to the back end, his work ethic is excellent,” she says. “I didn’t have to treat him any differently from my other employees.”
Developing the Future Workforce
Al Quhshi did the job over the summer while continuing to work as a staffer at the university’s fitness center swimming pool. He said he loved dealing directly with patients about their bills and attributed his “people skills” to his experiences in that most high-stakes of customer relations roles — restaurant server.
Through his work-study program he met Michael Whitfield, a revenue cycle analyst with the health system. Whitfield is an ECU alumnus with the same business degree and concentration Al Quhshi is finishing.
“My major, management information systems, is rare. You don’t find a lot of people even in the MIS major, but you have a whole MIS team here, and that was super exciting to meet them,” Al Quhshi says.
Whitfield, whom he sometimes calls “Sir Michael,” is a mentor. According to the graduating senior, it’s Whitfield’s role to share documentation and reports with management and key stakeholders, identify trends and innovate ways to improve processes — exactly what Al Quhshi hopes to do one day.
“Every time I see him coming, I’m like, ‘Hey, can I have a lunch with you?’ I look up to him,” he says.
“Abe’s success is his own, but his story is also one about how a university transforms a community,” Jackson says.
In the spring, Al Quhshi will receive his diploma and begin his career — or has his career already begun? Until this summer, he had thought he would have to move away. Perhaps not. He could continue to invest his talents in ECU Health.
He’s made all the right moves so far.
“I feel fortunate being an ECU student,” Al Quhshi says. “I have received all the help I need. I have met great people, great professors. And, yeah, it has been a whole experience for me.”
Learn more about workforce innovation and engagement.