May 03, 2026
Kayla Deuser was inspired by Hollywood portrayals of hackers, but it took a real-world opportunity in health care to illuminate her career path.
An internship illuminated Kayla Deuser鈥檚 engineering career path and led to her full-time job as a clinical business solutions analyst for Mercy. The St. Charles native graduates in May 2026 with a bachelor鈥檚 degree in information technology.
I鈥檝e always loved math and science, but technology is what truly drew me in.
Growing up, I thought the hackers in movies were always so cool, and that curiosity stuck with me. I also had a strong interest in health care, so I was torn between the two fields for a long time. Thankfully, I鈥檝e found a career path that lets me combine both 鈥 and I absolutely love the work I鈥檓 doing now at Mercy Healthcare.
Mizzou offered me the college experience I wanted.
I was impressed by the engineering school and everything it offered, but what really stood out was the campus and sorority life. It felt fun, welcoming and full of opportunities to get involved and meet new people. Looking back now, I can confidently say Mizzou was the right choice. I鈥檝e had one of the best chapters of my life here 鈥 learning, growing and meeting new friends who鈥檝e made these years unforgettable.
I鈥檝e always gravitated toward leadership roles.
I served as the team lead on my senior capstone project. Five of us built an application from start to finish. This project was the first time everything came together in such a successful, collaborative way, so it felt more real than any other project I had led previously. I learned an incredible amount about project management, communication and technical execution.
When I first started in engineering, I had no idea where my career would lead.
I knew I loved science, health care, data and math, but I didn鈥檛 understand how those interests fit together. Information technology gave me room to explore, but I sometimes worried that I hadn鈥檛 found my passion.
Everything changed when I started my internship at Mercy during my sophomore year. I was introduced to health care technology, health informatics and strategic project work, and something clicked. I could finally see how many paths existed beyond the classroom. I pushed myself to learn as much as I could and take on every opportunity available.
I took a leap of faith 鈥
Just before winter break of my senior year, the vice president of health care technology management at Mercy encouraged me to apply for a full-time job. It was a newly created role: clinical business solutions analyst. I took a leap of faith and applied. Four months later, I鈥檓 training new team members and working on clinical equipment projects across Mercy鈥檚 entire system of more than 1,000 clinics and hospitals.
What excites me most is that everything I do 鈥 from application configuration and security reviews to vendor management, server builds, clinical device implementations and strategic projects 鈥 ultimately supports our physicians, clinics, hospitals and patients. That purpose drives me every day.