Rasheeda Lake, 35, found her passion for radiology in the X-ray laboratory at a veterinary clinic. The Gwinnett Tech Radiologic Technology program is helping her move from one species to another.
Lake plans to graduate in April 2015 with her associate’s degree from the program. Since 1986, the program has achieved a 99.9-percent overall pass rate from the American Registry of Radiologic Technologies certifying exam.
My interest: I worked for about 11 years as a vet tech. I found myself enjoying doing X-rays on animals. I wanted to do that (X-rays) only, so I decided to go back to school to be able to hone in on one profession. Let’s say you take a regular X-ray of a foot. You get to see all the individual bones and the joints in between the bones, and you know you could be making the difference between their doctor knowing if something is broken or misplaced. It’s good to know you’re helping out a patient in such a quick way.
My time management: Our program is a 40-hour workweek, so it’s a full-time job, but it’s doable. I work on the weekends as a vet tech. I also have two kids, and I’m married, so you really have to juggle to make sure you can give enough time to everyone and not feel bad when you can’t, because there’s only so much you can do in one week. I try to study every day instead of the night before a test, and I make time either before or after studying to have fun with my family or relax.
My experience: I think back to the beginning interview process to get into the program, when they ask you what happens if you don’t get accepted. My answer to them was, I will see you next year, because I will keep applying until I get into this program. I had heard nothing but good things about the reputation of the instructors and then I got to actually experience it firsthand.
My advice: This has to be something you are passionate about. You can’t go into this thinking, “I just want this as a job because it looks neat.” You won’t be able to give it the time needed to be really great.
