30 at 30: Yasmine Mukahal 

Executive MBA – Strategic Leadership Class of 2022    

Director, Talent Acquisition (Campus Recruiting): HCA Healthcare

At six years old, Yasmine Mukahal, her parents, and her three younger siblings immigrated to the United States as refugees. This move was the first step in a journey that would shape the trajectory of Mukahal’s life, all of which is marked by her tenacity and courage. 

“It was an amazing but also a very scary experience,” Mukahal shared. “It really helped to build our character and shape who we are today as Palestinian-Americans.” 

The Value of Education 

Upon arriving in the United States, Mukahal was excited to receive an education. None of the women in her family, including her mother or grandmother, had been afforded the opportunity of a formal education. Both had entered into arranged marriages in their teenage years, leaving school to manage their households. Now, as Mukahal’s family entered a new chapter of their lives in the United States, her mother encouraged her to pursue education. 

“Education was very important to my mom,” Mukahal said. “Her goal and her hopes for me were to get an education and to get married.” 

Rising With Resilience 

Everything changed for Mukahal in early high school when her mother passed away. She quickly transitioned from enjoying her teenage years as a high school student – looking forward to prom and graduation – to dropping out of school to take care of her younger siblings. Despite the challenges, the teenager was determined to care for her family and continue moving forward. 

“It was heartbreaking as a 16-year-old, thinking about all the things that I didn’t get to experience, but I became a mom to my siblings,” Mukahal said. “And I knew that education would be something that I needed to move forward.” 

As a young adult, Mukahal entered an arranged marriage and had a child. She later ended the marriage and spent her young adult years caring for her daughter as a single mother. Throughout that time, she maintained her hope of one day returning to school. 

Bachelor’s Degree Bound 

As a single mom, Mukahal never lost the drive to pursue an education, but said she always found herself putting it on the backburner to manage family priorities. Even so, it was something she craved. All the while, she worked tirelessly to build her career, eventually earning a Talent Acquisition Team Lead role at Vanderbilt University. 

“Being at Vanderbilt, the first question people asked was, ‘Where did you go to school?’” she explained. “And it always made me feel like I was ‘less than’ because I didn’t have a degree. At that point, I decided I didn’t care what it took. I was getting a bachelor’s degree.” 

Mukahal worked nonstop, maintaining her full-time job while also maxing out the class hours she could take each semester. For two years, she balanced school, work and parenthood, ultimately earning her bachelor’s degree at MTSU. For her, the degree meant more than simply completing college courses. It was a lifelong goal finally achieved. 

Because of the pandemic, Mukahal’s graduation was virtual. Her brothers and daughter gathered around the computer at the kitchen table to celebrate her commencement as a meaningful milestone for their family. 

“My mom would have been so proud that her daughter now has an education,” Mukahal explained. “And a huge accomplishment for my daughter to see that her mom has a bachelor’s degree.” 

Accelerating Toward an EMBA 

In 2021, Mukahal earned a leadership role at HCA Healthcare in Nashville, and she decided it was time to pursue the next step in her education. Having grown up in Tennessee, UT had been her college of choice before dropping out of high school. She loved the passion that the community had for the school and wanted to be a part of it.  

She’d considered the EMBA – Strategic Leadership the year prior, but ultimately decided that the timing wasn’t right. However, when she reached back out to the EMBA team in December of 2022, she was soon on her way to starting the program in January 2023.  

“It all happened so fast,” Mukahal said. “The timeline of getting started was so chaotic, but it was also so easy. It was just meant to be.” 

The EMBA Impact 

In her work at HCA, the EMBA helped Mukahal take a holistic perspective on business and executive functions. She and her cohort studied executive competencies and how they operate across industries and job functions, empowering leaders to drive change. 

One of the most impactful elements of the program for Mukahal was her cohort community. The connections she made with her classmates offered a wealth of knowledge, with each person bringing a unique perspective to the table. In addition to learning from their faculty members, the students learned from one another’s experiences. 

“As a Palestinian woman, I didn’t have the family or community scaffolding to understand how to navigate corporate America, and I think one of the most important benefits or factors is the people that I met,” the HR executive explained. “Making those connections and learning from my classmates’ experiences was so valuable.” 

EMBA Words of Wisdom 

Mukahal’s advice to prospective students is, “Go for it.” She explained that the program has continued to support her personal and professional growth and that executives who are ready to grow will benefit in so many ways. 

“It pushed me, and it challenged me to step out of my comfort zone, but it was all to my benefit,” she explained. “I wanted the challenge, and I wanted to learn. This program gave me all of that.”