From Tragedy to Triumph

For many, life is a straight line. You go to school, get a degree, get a job, start a family, retire. 

But for Bauer College alumnus Dante Prada (EMBA ‘13), the journey was more of a zigzag.  

Born and raised in Lima, Peru, Prada started his professional path working in logistics, ultimately moving to oil and gas industry. In 2011, he saw the first sharp redirect, leading him to a different future. 

“The company sent me to Houston to work in the headquarters, and during that time I was able to get into Bauer,” he said. “I did my Executive MBA and when I finished in 2013, the company sent me back to Lima.” 

Prada added: “In one of my final courses, we had to come up with a presentation on where we’d be in five years. My main goal was to get my green card and become a CEO of the industry I was in, and to ultimately work in Houston.”  

Enter: another zag. 

“Doctors had told me that my original diagnosis was not Hodgkin’s lymphoma, but non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma,” he said. “Basically, the last year of treatment had done nothing to help cure me.”  

Now with an accurate diagnosis, Prada decided to move his family to Houston, where he started an aggressive course of treatment.  

“After this situation of my cancer journey, I was really, really weak,” he said. “I had a total of 16 chemotherapies plus a bone marrow transplant. My body was not ready to go back to that level of stress of corporate mode.” 

He decided to leave his career in the oil and gas industry to focus on his health, but he wanted to find a position with less stress that could keep him motivated.  

“Back in those days, I was very anxious about the future. The uncertainty of if the cancer was going to come back, everything was fresh,” he added. “But one day, I woke up and I said, ‘I'm not going to stay at home. I'm going to start moving.’ I needed to move, so I woke up, download the Uber app and I started driving for Uber for about a year and a half.” 

Prada’s journey as a driver ultimately brought him back to a place where he had spent plenty of time — hospitals. 

“I was driving people going to hospitals with emergency situations, and at the same time, people i knew from Peru were calling me because they were in Houston for treatment,” he said. 

Prada not only provided rides, but he attended appointments with friends, helping them translate information from their doctors, submit paperwork and find temporary housing.  

In 2017, he launched his own business along the same lines. Lighthouse Medical Concierge became a service to guide patients through the recovery process, providing rides, medical assistance and translation services. 

“The process can be overwhelming, and I wanted to help them,” Prada said. “I would translate for appointments, help deliver medical records, help them understand the process. I would help them buy groceries. Our mission is to be an unconditional guide for patients and relatives helping them.” 

In addition to helping with medical needs, Prada expanded the business in 2018 to include Lighthouse Housing, which provides fully furnished apartments for families and others that stay in Houston.  

“We provide one-to-three-bedroom units, fully furnished, fully equipped where these families can stay feeling at home instead of in a hotel that you need to go outside and find your food,” he said. “These apartments are fully equipped and come with everything needed to live for two or three or six months or one year.” 

Although Prada’s original five-year plan of becoming a CEO in the energy industry didn’t become a reality, he still credits his Bauer graduate experience with helping to put him on the path to success. 

“Taking that course, realizing that you made that plan to be here permanently, originally under different circumstances, but having my original employer help me get a green card allowed me to stay permanently and get the treatment I needed,” he recalled. “Bauer made me take that first step toward that goal.”  

Now as he works to expand his company in the coming years to other medical hubs like Boston, Baltimore, Rochester and Florida, his goal is to put people first.  

“The people who came into my life who I helped and encouraged me to start a business, the main purpose was always to help people,” Prada said. “The businesses came because of a good purpose. My message would be to always try to help others when the opportunity comes along.”