Soaring to New Heights

Looking back, birdwatching wasn’t something Seema Bhavsar, senior internal auditor, ever could have imagined herself doing. During the pandemic, she and her husband tried to find new hobbies to pass the time. What they uncovered was a beautiful world awaiting them right outside their window. They would spend hours tallying the diverse bird species. Fast forward to four years later, and their backyard now hosts over 85 different bird species throughout the year, including a recent visit from an eastern screech owl.

The key for anyone who enjoys this hobby is to ‘look and listen’, because many birds have unique songs and calls. In many respects, this is well suited to Seema and how she has approached different roles throughout her career journey since joining Integra in 2012 on the corporate finance team. She has also worked on the inventory, corporate financial planning & analysis, and general accounting teams. Each career move has come with a learning curve, yet at the same time, the chance to build new skills and work with colleagues around the world.

Never one to stay in one place for too long, she has found herself always wanting that next challenge. She persuaded her way onto the Inventory team, where she learned inventory processes and assisted with implementing Oracle R12. Then an opportunity emerged in April of 2021 on the internal audit team. While she has a bachelor’s degree in accounting, she did not have any work-related audit experience.

She embraced this new challenge, without hesitation and didn’t shy away from seeking help when needed. The key to her success is taking advantage of what is right in front of you. The knowledge she would like to impart on others is -- to engage in networking, participate in employee resource groups to build connections and seek out a mentor who can offer valuable guidance and support on your career journey.

This month, as we celebrate Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day, Seema is grateful to the many women who have paved the way for she and other women to advance their careers. It’s also a time for her to honor the inspiring role models and mentors in her life, including her mom. As Seema shared, “my mother has been my guiding light for as long as I can recall. Together with my father, she made the courageous decision to move to the United States, seeking better opportunities. Despite facing the challenge of not being able to pursue higher education herself, she prioritized ensuring that I had that privilege. She instilled in me values of independence, strength, and compassion.”

In addition to taking risks with her motto of ‘change is good’, Seema has recently taken on a leadership role for the Women of Integra Network (WIN) Princeton Chapter, which has required her to step out of her comfort zone and do more public speaking. She develops and organizes networking events, coordinates meditation classes, and works with others on ways to boost member engagement.

She also participated in a Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association (HBA) ERG roundtable session with 30 other HBA members representing diverse companies across Central New Jersey.

With an eye towards the future, she is excited to see our innovation and investments in R&D come to fruition to continue to restore patients’ lives. She is also looking forward to going to Home Depot, to stock up on new bird feeders to see who her next surprise visitor will be!