ALUMNI
BONDS NOT EASILY BROKEN
making an impact
WITH THE HELP OF THE GENERATION BEFORE THEM
UPDATES
Alumnus spotlight:
Brady Augustine ’95
He and his wife, Carmela, live in Tallahassee and
have three children: Taylor, Andrew, and Isabella.
He is also actively involved with the Boy Scouts of
America and serves as an assistant Scoutmaster for
Troop 118.
Augustine recently gave a lecture at Auburn
University titled, “The Rise of the Health Data
Scientist,” sponsored by the College of Sciences and
Mathematics and the Auburn University Libraries.
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When did you become interested in
statistics and analytics/what made
you decide to build a career in that
field?
Brady Augustine is a leader in health systems
operations and improvement and is currently the
president of Aggressive Analytics Inc., a consulting
firm that provides leadership in the areas of
Medicare and Medicaid operations, health systems
development, health information technology,
value-based purchasing, operational and clinical
research, regulatory compliance, and performance
improvement.
He has more than 20 years of experience managing
teams and budgets for private sector firms and
government agencies and has held roles in many
professional societies where he has received
numerous awards for his innovation.
Before joining Aggressive Analytics Inc., Augustine
served as chief of health systems development for
the Agency for Health Care Administration in
Tallahassee, Florida, where he directed the bureau
responsible for improving Florida’s use of managed
care principles to increase value of healthcare
delivered to Florida Medicaid beneficiaries.
Augustine received a master’s degree in statistics
with a concentration in biostatistics and
econometrics and a bachelor’s degree in applied
discrete mathematics from Auburn University.
As a child, I used to do fantasy football and fantasy
baseball before it was appreciated by others. I
remember modifying 20 decks of cards to match
strengths and weaknesses of fictitious players and
then using these probabilities to play a season of
games. At Auburn, I remember wondering how in
the world could I find a career that took advantage
of the things I cared about: public policy, finance,
healthcare, and analytics. It took me a while, but
eventually I got connected with Jerry Veeh in the
Department of Mathematics and Statistics and
Robert Ekelund in the Department of Economics,
and I decided to work on a double master’s degree
in statistics and economics.
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Of what, thus far in your career, are
you most proud?
I am most proud of helping show that ‘quality
pays’ in healthcare. I have had the honor of serving
with teams at the federal, state, and local levels
that have saved tens of thousands of lives and
billions of dollars. As W.E. Deming would say,
the problems we face are not people problems but
system problems, and that is the responsibility of
management. This is where I wanted to help.
COSAM ALUMNI CHOOSE DENTISTRY
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What is your favorite Auburn
memory?
Too many to name. I worked as a firefighter at
the Auburn Fire Department and a paramedic at
East Alabama Medical Center during much of my
time at Auburn and many of my favorite memories
include the camaraderie I shared with my fellow
first responders.
Both Patton and O’Brien agree that the education
they received from the College of Sciences and
Mathematics effectively prepared them for
professional school.
How do you feel the College
of Sciences and Mathematics
prepared you for your career?
COSAM taught me that math was not just one
tool in an analytical toolbox but, rather, many
different tools for many different purposes. It also
taught me that, like with any tool in a toolbox,
mathematics is only as good as the professionalism
of the person using it. To this day, I do my best
to uphold the American Statistical Association’s
Ethical Guidelines.
Where are you from originally/how
did you choose Auburn?
Though I grew up in Florence, Alabama, both
my parents and most of my siblings went to the
University of Tennessee. In fact, my father was a
captain of the Tennessee football team in 1962, but
I wanted to chart my own path. One day at the age
of 10, I came home with a crimson T-shirt that
read ‘Hold on Bear, I am on my way,’ which caused
a bit of consternation in my house. My father said
to me in a loving yet stern way, ‘son, that will not
do…you can love Auburn, but Alabama is not
allowed.’
However, it wasn’t the dentistry itself that sold
Patton on what would be her future career.
“I was your typical firstborn, parent pleaser,
overachiever, nothing-less-than-an-A-is-goodenough student,” said Patton. As a child, being a
doctor seemed to be the most lofty education goal
a person could set, so naturally, I decided that is
what I would become. I seemingly spent my entire
life working toward that goal, and it wasn’t until I
had nearly reached that goal that I took the time to
realize that maybe, it was not for me.”
After months of working at the East Alabama
Medical Center, testing and preparing applications
to medical school, Patton had what she can only
describe as “a divine epiphany.”
“I made an appointment to talk to Dr. Bill Dorgan,
then assistant dean for health professions, and sat
across from him with my heart in my throat,” said
Patton. “I took a deep breath, and said ‘I don’t think
I want to go to medical school.’ Dr. Dorgan then
asked me if I had ever considered dental school and
suggested that I go over to Dr. O’Brien’s office to
see what I thought about dentistry.”
Although Patton had never given serious thought
to a career in dentistry, she agreed to spend a day at
O’Brien’s practice.
“I’m sure Dr. O’Brien thought I was the worst
dental school candidate he had ever met,” Patton
said jokingly. “To say that I knew nothing about
dentistry is a vast understatement. He let me
observe a few procedures, and I soon realized that
I had a lot to learn about all of the things that
dentists do.”
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Journey/Spring 2016
“Dr. McLaughlin influenced me the most to go
into dentistry, but the idea of working with my
hands and helping people had always interested
me,” said O’Brien. “Dr. McLaughlin is absolutely
one of the finest dentists to ever practice dentistry,
and I am so lucky to have had his mentorship.”
Dr. Jennifer Morrissey-Patton ’96, wanted to go to
medical school before a chance encounter with Dr.
Michael O’Brien ’79, opened her eyes to the world
of dentistry.
“Dr. O’Brien and his staff seemed genuinely
happy,” said Patton. “It was like the staff was this
little family, joking with each other and helping
one another. The patients even seemed happy, and
that’s saying something considering they were at a
dentist’s office. Dr. O’Brien told me that he loved
his job. He had so much more autonomy than
physicians did; from how many hours he worked,
to choosing the people that he worked with. Plus,
he could actually fix problems with his own hands
in a matter of minutes. He didn’t just order tests,
wait for results, and write prescriptions. He actually
resolved problems from beginning to end, within
an hour. I didn’t know squat about dentistry, but I
knew that I was envious of that sort of joy that you
could have going to work every day, and, just like
his patients, I too was fixed within that hour.”
Patt on went on to attend dental school at
the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
After graduation, she decided to remain in the
Birmingham area where she worked in a general
dentistry office. Three years later, Patton purchased
the office and production doubled within two years.
She has now been in practice at Hoover Family
Dentistry for more than 15 years, with two dentists
and nine employees on her team. Patton says she
has never once regretted her decision to change
career paths and owes it all to O’Brien.
“It was obvious that all the Auburn students in
my classes at UAB were very prepared for the
basic science courses and, to some extent, the
didactic as well,” said O’Brien. “A number of my
former COSAM professors are now patients in
my practice. While that is certainly a compliment
to our practice, it is an even bigger testament to
the confidence they have in their teaching, and in
the quality of education COSAM is providing its
students.”
Throughout her career, Patton has mentored
dental students in hopes of helping them find
their paths, just as O’Brien helped find hers.
“It’s a pleasant surprise to learn that my talks and
exposure to former students was even noticed,
much less revered,” said O’Brien. “If every dentist
could spark the passion in a young student,
then it will pay huge dividends for patients in
the end. Many people never find the passion in
their careers, or if so, not for very long. Jennifer’s
patients can tell she is passionate about what she
does, and I just feel very honored for her to credit
me with the influence.”
Now in his 33rd year of dentistry at O’Brien
Dental in Auburn, O’Brien says he is more
passionate about his work now more than ever.
O’Brien was also steered into a career in dentistry
by another Auburn alumnus and dentist, Dr. W.L.
McLaughlin ’52.
College of Sciences and Mathematics
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