University of Minnesota Athletics
Backpack to Briefcase: Christine Tan
5/25/2017 12:00:00 AM | Student-Athlete Development
Christine Tan was a four-year letterwinner for the Gopher Volleyball program from 2006-09. An American Volleyball Coaches Association All-America honorable mention, Tan was also two-time All-Region selection. The 2008 Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, Tan was a first-team All-Big Ten selection that same season. She finished her career with 1,927 digs, which currently ranks second on the all-time career list. A three-time Academic All-Big Ten, Tan went on to earn multiple degrees from the University of Minnesota. She earned her doctorate in pharmacy in 2015 and has since moved to Sacramento, Calif., and is currently employed at Envision Rx Options. Take a look as gophersports.com caught up with Tan.
Gophersports.com: Describe your experience when playing at the University of Minnesota.
Christine Tan: It was life changing for me. Thinking back you ask yourself the question, “What were the defining moments of my life?” Playing a Division I sport, at a very high level, at the University of Minnesota, was truly the most impactful experience I have had. All the way up in my life through my 20s, and then until I graduated from pharmacy school, that was really what defined who I was, what I did, and what made me successful. It was an incredible experience. I got to see and do things via traveling, and competing, that I never would have the opportunity to do. Playing at the University of Minnesota with the team and coaching staff I had, was amazing. They gave me that experience and I am completely thankful. It really has been a huge defining point of who I am today.
GS: What are you currently doing in your career?
CT: My official title is a trade relations pharmacist within Envision Rx. I graduated undergrad from the University of Minnesota with a biology and physiology degree. And with that, I applied to pharmacy school at the University of Minnesota. I ended up being accepted, and graduated with my doctorate in pharmacy in 2015. I decided to do educational training, so I did a residency with United Healthcare. They are a large health insurance company and are headquartered in Minnesota. I got the opportunity to train specifically in the healthcare insurance industry, focusing primarily on drug benefit design. I work in drug formulaic strategy and design for a pharmacy insurance company. My specific job is to negotiate with the pharmaceutical manufacturers on bringing down drug pricing. We work to make drug prices and drugs more affordable for our clients and for our health plans. I do that by combining my pharmacy training and also by combining some financial and business analytics as well.
GS: What tools did the University of Minnesota student-athlete development office provide you in helping your career?
CT: The student athlete development office provided me access to networking and individuals outside of my normal day-to-day environment. As a student athlete, you interact primarily with your coaches and with your teammates. The development office helped connect me with individuals who were in the field that I was interested in going into. At the time I was playing, Anissa Lightner and Peyton Owens III were really those individuals that spearheaded that for me. They had just instituted a networking and business dinner for student athletes, and I took advantage of that. That gave us opportunities to connect outside of who we interacted with on our normal day-to-day.
GS: What is one thing the student-athlete development office provided you with that you didn’t expect?
CT: This is maybe not surprising, but it was surprising to me. It was the ability to interact and work on a professional and personal level with all walks of life. As a pharmacist from training, I have had the experience of having to counsel and talk with patients. In my job, I interact with doctors and individuals with finance and business-centric background on a daily basis. Having worked with teams all my life, I’ve been able to find a way to relate to anyone I work with. However, it was really surprising to me how advantageous that was, how important it is, and how often it’s highlighted in my day-by-day because of that ability.
GS: What are your future goals?
CT: I think that at this point I plan to continue on in the private sector at least for the next few years. I do have aspirations to work for the federal government specifically working with CMS in Medicaid and Medicare services. The skills I have acquired in my pharmacy training, my experiences and my University of Minnesota background, I think I’d like to impact on a more public health level. Right now my company covers about five million lives, but Medicare and Medicaid are the largest in the country. I think that would be really a great way to give back.
GS: What did you take from your student athlete experience and how do you apply it in the world force?
CT: The biggest element I took away from my student athlete experience was how to interact and vocalize my opinions in a way that helped the entire group. My coach, Mike Hebert, really empowered us to provide our opinion. He made it feel impactful and our opinion really mattered. It’s easy to sort of hide in a crowd at times, but having had a coach that really encouraged us to speak our mind and to speak it intelligently, that really had helped me stand out. It really helped me feel comfortable in whatever environment that I have been in, personally or professionally.
GS: What advice do you have for current student athletes as they look ahead to life after college?
CT: The most important thing for a student athlete to do is to think about what you’d like to do after playing. It’s very hard because you’re so focused on a very important goal of being successful student athlete. However, use the resources you have at your disposal. Not only to become a better athlete, but also know the academic and student-athlete center, in terms of networking. My success in my professional career, I can tie back to the volleyball and student athlete connection. Through the student-athlete development office, I shadowed someone and got connected with them in the pharmacy field. Use the resources you have. Those resources are there not only during your time as a student athlete, but after as well. It’s sort of a lifetime commitment. You made a commitment for four years, but it’s really a connection for a lifetime and those resources don’t go away.
GS: What is something you miss most of being a Gopher volleyball player?
CT: There‘s so many things, but I miss the connection I had with my teammates. They are still there, but being able to see them every day laugh, cry and work hard together. That complete 100 percent commitment, the one goal and having so many people with the same goal in mind, I really miss that. I’d definitely love to go back and experience that again.
GS: Most memorable experience?
CT: I’ll never forget, it was in the Elite Eight my senior year (2009) and were playing Florida State University. It was just such an incredible experience. We played so well as a unit, the crowd was full and it was just the most amazing experience. I can remember that entire game and it’s my favorite match to watch, really, because of the crowd and because of the fact that when we won it, we went to the Final Four. The championship was in Tampa, Florida, which is my hometown. It was just an incredible experience to be able to do that with the team and then to eventually take my whole team to my hometown. It was really fantastic.
GS: Do you still follow Gopher Volleyball?
CT: Absolutely. I had just moved out to Sacramento when the 2016 season had started. I told my whole office, “Come with me, let’s go watch Gopher Volleyball at the Final Four.” I watch when I can. I stay in touch with my teammates, with our athletic trainer Ronni (Beatty-Kollasch). I’m a very proud alum and I have really enjoyed watching the success of the program and where it’s gotten to today.
