Birmingham-Southern College honored the 2019 Alumni Award Recipients during the festivities of homecoming weekend. The Distinguished Alumni, Outstanding Young Alumni, and Rising Star awards recognize graduates who have achieved outstanding success in their chosen professions. The awards were presented at the Alumni Awards Brunch on Saturday, Oct. 19 in Bruno Great Hall of the Norton Campus Center.

In all areas of her work— whether it’s a project at Children’s of Alabama, a BSC alumni gathering, or an educational session for women in healthcare— Sandy Thurmond ’84 is constantly building up her community.

She completed her bachelor’s and master’s degrees before entering an administrative residency at Children’s of Alabama. Now, with 32 years of experience, Thurmond finds herself within the same compassionate organization and around its dedicated team.

As the vice president of primary care services at Children’s, Thurmond oversees the operations and development of Pediatric Practice Solutions, the hospital’s primary care network, and builds relationships with pediatricians around Alabama.

“I bonded with the mission of Children’s from the start,” she says. “Our team has a meaningful impact on the care, teaching, and advocacy of the hospital.”

Thurmond gained experience in operations, facilities, and strategic planning at the hospital before joining the primary care team in 1995. She moved into the VP position in 2004. With 13 Pediatric Practice Solutions offices in Alabama, Children’s primary care division saw over 335,000 patients last year.

Thurmond has always been drawn towards the medical field. In fact, her pre-med and biology studies were a big factor in why she decided to attend BSC. Those courses, along with the small size BSC offered, made her choice easy.

“The friendships and people I met lasted. We chose to still spend time with each other after graduating,” she says.

Many of her BSC friendships carried on long past graduation, sometimes in the form of supper clubs, birthday clubs, or vacations. Thurmond has also served as a dedicated member of BSC’s Alumni Board, including her term as president in 2018-2019, and now serves on BSC’s Board of Trustees.

Among her many leadership roles and career successes, something Thurmond is the most proud of is her support for women, particularly women in healthcare. She mentors women under her leadership and offers work-life balance as an executive at Children’s, but her work also extends much farther than her own workplace.

Thurmond was named by the UAB Commission on the Status of Women as the 2019 Outstanding Woman in the Community, honored for her work in many areas including with BSC, the Momentum Women’s Leadership Program, the American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women movement, the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Alabama, and the UAB Women in Healthcare Leadership Initiative.

This story was published in the Fall/Winter 2019 issue of ’Southern, BSC’s alumni magazine.

If you have ideas for our next issue of ’Southern, please email [email protected]. We always welcome stories about outstanding people from the BSC community.