Connecting at Connections: How Long-Lost Friends Reconnected at New Colleague Orientation

When Mylinh Huynh, Insurance Follow-Up Representative, and Crystal Grant, Patient Accounting and Customer Service Representative, walked into Lehigh Valley Hospital–Cedar Crest for their new colleague orientation, called Connections, they each had their own first-day jitters. Luckily, they didn’t have to face the nerves alone. That’s because they recognized each other from across the room, even though they hadn’t connected since high school.

“I was really surprised when she came up to me first because we always run into each other at the most random times, but we have the same reaction as if we were in high school again,” says Grant. “It was just a nice feeling to see a familiar face from my childhood.”

Huynh was equally surprised at the coincidence.

“Of all days, times and locations, in a sense we are starting a new adventure together – a new chapter in our lives starting at the same time,” she says.

When Huynh and Grant first met, they were in high school. They met in 2003 at the start of high school. Grant attended William Allen High School and Huynh went to Dieruff High School, but they connected over their shared love of tennis while playing on opposing teams.

“I admired her, and she was always friendly to me with a great attitude before and after the games,” Huynh says. “We stayed in contact over the years, connecting on social media and keeping up with each other.”

Even though they stay connected, neither knew the other was starting a new role at LVHN, much less on the same day. Both were happy and surprised to see each other.

“Any time we see each other, we always show each other love,” says Grant.

For Grant, the decision to join LVHN was easy. She’s a triplet and both of her sisters are employed by LVHN. The hiring process was easy, and the decision to join LVHN was reaffirmed by the familiar face at orientation.

As for Huynh, she was seeking an in-person role after being remote for a few years, but she did have some nerves about the application process and transition. 

“The interview process was very informative and very detailed which helped ease my anxiety and reassured me I was making the right decision to accept the offer and become part of the LVHN family,” she says.

Even though they just joined LVHN, Grant and Huynh have aspirations for career growth as colleagues.

Grant is willing to grow into a new role and is ready to put in the work to get there. She’s even considered going back to school and taking advantage of LVHN’s tuition reimbursement program to make her dreams reality.

“I am excited to progress within my current role and to see where my LVHN journey will lead to in the future,” says Grant.

Huynh is also considering education and tuition reimbursement as a stepping stone to career growth, including management in the next few years.

“I am considering completing my bachelor’s degree using tuition reimbursement, which is a great benefit to use if you want to continue to grow in more than one way,” she says.

For Huynh, she experienced the core values first-hand at LVHN right away. Everyone has been welcoming, patient and warm to her, easing her newcomer jitters.

“This helped make the transition so much smoother,” she says. “It’s what I missed about being in person, and LVHN helped reassure me that I made the right decision to become part of the team.”

As for Grant and Huynh, they finished training together and have exchanged numbers. They hope to meet for lunch and catch up often because they both work at LVHN–Mack Boulevard.

“To see how we’ve grown and what we’ve become of ourselves is a really good feeling,” says Grant.