When Jake Wolf walks into the new Jennie Sealy Hospital, he can tell you the story behind every light fixture, piece of furniture and architectural detail that adorns the 765,000-square-foot building. On a Wednesday afternoon in February, I’m lucky enough to have Wolf lead me on a private tour.

If anyone knows how much UTMB has grown over the years, it’s Eddie Long. As a senior materials handling tech, he’s worked for the university for nearly 26 years delivering materials, equipment, supplies and records to institutional departments.

Rebecca Carson and Katrina Lightbourn are the brightest parts of the day for many patients at UTMB’s John Sealy Hospital. They don’t provide direct patient care, but what they do as UTMB and Morrison Healthcare Food and Nutrition Services employees plays a major role in helping patients—from children to seniors—stay healthy and recover from medical procedures and illnesses.

Patricia Valdes isn’t grossed out by ticks—you know, those tiny bugs that burrow in your skin and suck your blood. She’s interested in them and fascinated by the microorganisms they transmit. As the assistant director of the Walker Research Lab at UTMB, she’s dedicated the last 25 years to learning more about the biology of the pathogens that ticks carry.

Shawn Carr never imagined she would be responsible for operating a giant medication-dispensing robot when she started as a pharmacy tech at UTMB 25 years ago. Located on the seventh floor of the new Clinical Services Wing, Carr and her colleagues at UTMB’s Central Pharmacy are responsible for dispensing and delivering about 6,000 doses of medications each day for hospital patients on UTMB’s Galveston Campus.

It’s not even 8:30 a.m. and Kirsten Emanuel, a nurse practitioner specializing in women’s health and OB-GYN at the Regional Maternal and Child Health Clinic in Conroe, is already on her fourth patient of the day. At 26 years old, she is the youngest NP in the building and radiates energy and enthusiasm when she talks about her job, which she’s held for the past year and a half.

Coffee, lots and lots of coffee. That’s pretty much the only constant in Mark Kinonen’s work day as a photographer at UTMB. So it only makes sense that I find him – surprise! – drinking industrial-strength coffee in his office on a Friday morning, charging camera batteries for a shoot later that day and jamming out to an eclectic mix of music (think Miles Davis/The Black Keys/Bryan Adams) as he answers emails and gets his creative juices flowing.

“Organized chaos.” That’s how nurse manager Bryan Hicks describes most days at the TDCJ Hospital in Galveston. And when I join him shortly after 10 a.m. on a Friday morning, I quickly understand why.The hospital, which is commonly referred to as “HG” or Hospital Galveston, sees between 200 and 300 patients a day. And by patients, I mean offenders that have been brought in by bus, ambulance and van from prison units all over the state.

If you or a family member have ever been a UTMB patient, it’s likely you have interacted with a patient services specialist, or PSS as they call themselves. And if you have been to the Orthopaedic Clinic at the Specialty Care Center in League City, you may have been greeted by a smiling Rosana Gomez.

They’re the smallest and most fragile patients at UTMB’s Galveston campus, and Registered Nurse Norma Salinas has the privilege of providing their care. Some people find their calling, but as a nurse in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Salinas’ calling found her.

If you haven’t used one recently, you probably soon will. They’re information support specialists, better known as IS (formerly known as IT). They’re the people you’re happy to see coming when you’re computer is on the fritz. Without them UTMB would probably come to a screeching halt, but computers aren’t their only responsibility.

When you hear the word social worker what comes to mind? Do you envision a government employee who makes visits to people’s homes who are in crisis? Do you think of a person who has someone’s child placed in child protective services?

If you work in the Rebecca Sealy Building on the UTMB Galveston campus, then you’re probably familiar with Jarvis Givens. He’s the eight-story building’s sole trash technician and on any given day, you can see him in his bright red shirt, hustling and bustling through the hallways as he greets everyone with a “Hello, how are you doing?” and a chuckle.

When most people think of an emergency room, they probably picture ambulances with blaring sirens rushing up to the ER carrying patients with bloody bodies. They may envision a man clutching his chest from heart attack pain, as he’s rushed through the halls on a stretcher.

When my manager first suggested I write an “A day in the life of” story about a midwife, I thought “OK.” Then I thought, wait a minute, am I going to witness a live birth with a moaning mother who’s refused medication? I imagined her lying in a kiddie pool with a midwife rubbing her back, wind chimes blowing through the wind and yoga music playing in the background.

We’ve all seen horror stories of prison life through overly dramatic films and television shows. But what is life really like in prison? Our fellow UTMB correctional managed care employees, who work within the Texas Department of Criminal Justice system, have an idea.

With the massive media coverage UTMB has received of late, I decided to sit down with Media Relations Director Raul Reyes for a glimpse into his work life. From the Ebola outbreak to chikungunya to our researchers’ recent fat-burning discovery, UTMB has been making major news and Reyes and his team have been working hard, behind the scenes, to make it all come together.

“Safety first. Buckle your seat belt,” said Officer Curtis Dorsey as I climb into his police car. Dorsey just celebrated 10 years with the UTMB Police Department this past June, and today I’m joining him for a ride-along and a sneak peek into his work life.