Alums Converge at Atlanta Hospital

Three Concordia Alumni from different parts of the country all found themselves working for the Children’s Hospital of Atlanta, and recently discovered that they share an alma mater.

“The world is so small and the fact that we are a doctor, a nurse, and a healthcare administrator [at the same hospital] is just awesome,” says Juwane Damon, MHA ’22.

The trio met unexpectedly at the place where they worked, a pediatric urgent care clinic in suburban Atlanta. Among them was Dr. Natalie (Sabzghabaei) Garcia ’06, a pediatric hospitalist who sees children admitted from the emergency room. She came to Concordia in 2002 from Dallas, Texas, to study biology on her way into the medical field.

“I wanted to be a doctor, but I didn’t know what kind,” she says. “I figured it out pretty quickly that I wanted to be a pediatrician.”

She knew no one in California at the time but was embraced by Concordia’s campus community. She played soccer all four years, and with several other students started the Phi Delta Epsilon pre-med honor society chapter, hosting health advocacy events and tutoring kids in the community. Faculty advisor and (now retired) biology professor Ken Ebel was a positive influence on her, and she participated in many of his Bible studies and camping trips. A high percentage of the people in that initial Phi Delta Epsilon class are now in the medical field, she says.

“I loved Concordia,” Garcia says. “I am where I am today because of the excellent education and support I got there, and the friends I made. There was a very diverse population. All the professors knew us by name and put aside time to talk to us. I am very grateful for Concordia, and I couldn’t recommend it highly enough.”

Garcia came to Atlanta to work at one of CHOA’s urgent care campuses in January 2022 after completing her pediatric residency and beginning her career in Michigan. One day at work, a nurse in the same facility, Alanna (Loose) Bretzmann ’12 and ABSN ’13, was wearing a Concordia shirt.

“Is that Concordia University Irvine? I went there,” Garcia remembers saying.

Bretzmann recalls the moment differently, and says she noticed Garcia using a cup from the TV series “The Chosen,” then mentioned she went to a Lutheran school in California.

“We realized we had just missed each other by a couple of years [on Concordia’s campus],” Bretzmann says.

She, too, was strongly influenced by Ken Ebel, as was her husband, Sam Bretzmann ’10. Bretzmann texted Ebel a photo of herself and Garcia on the job together.

Originally from Orange County, Bretzmann earned a degree in English literature from Concordia, then earned her Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing with the goal of writing books about kids with illnesses, to explain the disease process to real-life kids so they would better understand what was happening to them. She served as a resident advisor at Concordia for two years and participated in student senate.

“I was very introverted, but at Concordia I became much more comfortable not being shy,” she says. “The people I met at Concordia were amazing. I had such great roommates and friends. I was really happy.”

She and Sam married in 2014; he participated in the first Around-the-World® trip, and they both joined the fourth cohort as graduate assistants. Alanna then worked mainly as a nurse on the general surgery adult floor at a hospital in Orange County for eight years.

She and Garcia have something else in common: both have two children and another on the way. All those factors have contributed to a stronger bond than a normal work situation might provide.

“It’s comforting for sure,” Bretzmann says. “The Lutheran community is so small- world, which brings in a little bit of home. Having Dr. Garcia there is really nice. It changed our friendship dynamic right away and made us much closer. There were things I could say and she understood.”

Then came Juwane Damon, who was hired at the clinic in August 2022 and graduated from Concordia’s online Master’s in Healthcare Administration (MHA) program in early 2022. He told friends at the office he was traveling to the Southern California campus to take his photo by a globe they had there.

“I knew right away,” says Bretzmann. “Everybody knows about that statue.” She asked him, “You went to Concordia?” “How did you know that?” he responded.

And so the connection between the three of them was made. Damon had attended Concordia after serving in the Air Force as a first lieutenant in the area of healthcare management. He chose Concordia because it is a yellow ribbon school offering a faith-based education, both of which were important to him. He appreciates the surprise of having Concordia alumni around him.

“Some things they can relate to without explanation,” Damon says. “For instance, the other day Alanna said she felt like an O.C. mom. Not everybody understands what that means, but for me it’s relatable. You feel like you have some of the same upbringing. It helps form a bond.”

Damon’s role at the pediatric urgent care center is “to keep the team running, everything from making sure we’re doing quality work, to ensuring the building has everything it needs—payroll, customer service, whatever it takes,” he says. “I love that role of making everybody else’s job easier. There’s a lot of joy in it.” Damon remains on reserve status in the Air Force and drills once a month in Alabama.

Garcia, whose work has shifted to the main CHOA campus, says she reconnected with Ebel as a result of the auspicious alumni meeting. She and her husband, who is a pediatric cardiac intensivist at CHOA, hope to establish themselves in Atlanta, largely because CHOA is a teaching hospital and the Garcias are passionate about preparing upcoming generations of doctors for pediatric medicine.

Alanna and Sam picture themselves living one day overseas, perhaps in Kenya where Sam helps run a nonprofit that rescues and equips kids who live in slums. For now, Alanna enjoys working in patient care doing discharge and assessments with kids and their parents.

“It’s such a vulnerable, sweet moment in people’s lives that you get to have with them,” she says. “Kids are fun and it’s also very busy, which I appreciate.”

Damon loves his job at CHOA.

“CHOA is awesome,” he says. “I get to be part of a health care system that touches people in a variety of ways. Working for a healthcare system like that, and the way they treat their employees, there’s mutual respect. You always feel supported.”

Having an instant alumni community around him certainly helps.