Where are you from? I was born in Waterloo, Iowa but have been a resident of Cedar Rapids since I was eight years old.
Why did you choose Kirkwood? Kirkwood’s Medical Lab Technician program was the closest and most financially viable option for me to pursue a career in the clinical laboratory setting.
What is your major and how did you choose it? I chose to enroll in Kirkwood’s MLT program after working as a phlebotomist for the lab at St. Luke’s hospital in Cedar Rapids. I had started my employment there during the first year of the pandemic; I had some prior experience with phlebotomy and wanted to do something helpful for the community at that time. I became intrigued by a lot of the science behind the tests that we were performing, and decided that I wanted to get more involved, especially after receiving a good amount of encouragement from some of the lab techs at work.
What has been your proudest moment at Kirkwood? The proudest moment of my education, so far, was being nominated as one of this year’s developing professionals for the American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science through the ASCLS Iowa chapter.
What are your plans after Kirkwood? My plans after Kirkwood are to continue my education as I pursue a Medical Laboratory Science degree and to continue working for the lab at St. Luke’s, where I was recently promoted to a technical lab supervisor position.
What inspires or motivates you? My greatest motivation during my education has been to become the kind of individual that others can come to for knowledge and support, the kind of person that was there for me during my childhood, teen, and young adult years.
Tell us about who you are outside of Kirkwood. As someone who is both a fulltime student and a fulltime employee, I don’t currently have a lot of time to devote to my hobbies. When I am able, I love to cook, garden, and work on home renovation projects.
What does being named an Outstanding Student mean to you? Being named an Outstanding Student definitely feels like a validation of the hard work that I have put into these last two years. It’s also a bit of a reminder of how close I am to finishing my program, which is honestly a bit surreal.
Categories: Outstanding Students
