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[music] [David Lee] If you don't like working in a
restaurant or any other customer service-related job you're not going to enjoy working in a
hospital because the hospital is, in fact, customer service.
[Ashley Rodriguez] When I was in Iraq I came across a C-130 that has an all-female flight
crew which is unheard of in a combat zone. You don't see that. It was amazing and I wanted
to be a part of something like that. [David] I really love the anatomy and physiology
courses and now I get to apply them. [Harmony Haroldson] I actually had a fear
of dentists when I was younger because I had to have so much work done. I had teeth pulled,
dental surgery, and numerous cavities filled. That influenced my decision to go into dental
because I wanted to help people avoid what I had to go through.
[narrator] Three people, three different stories. They all have a promising technical career
ahead thanks to Pima Community College. Let's meet them.
[David] After high school I didn't want to go straight into college so I took about a
year off and then I just started working. [Harmony] I realized I wanted a more substantial
career so I went back to school. [Ashley] I was actually deployed in Iraq from
2008 to about 2009. It was quite an experience. [David] I worked in mainly customer service
jobs. [Ashley] In Iraq I was actually part of the
Iraqi Women Engagement. What that is we searched female Iraqis for any types of threats, any
types of IEDs that may be attached to their bodies unfortunately before we gave them any
kind of assistance. [David] I met with a counselor at Pima West
Campus and she told me about the Radiologic Technology Program. It gave me a goal.
[Harmony] I started taking my prerequisite classes for the dental programs, but the classes
that I enjoyed most were biology, organic chemistry and physiology. I really enjoyed
learning how the human body works. [Ashley] We relocated back to Tucson and I
went to Pima to try and finish up some more credits that I needed to transfer over to
the U. I came across a piece of paper that was sitting on the floor. I picked it up to
throw it away, it was kind of in the way getting stepped on. It was actually on the aviation
program. At that moment I was like, this is what I want to do. It brought me back to when
I was in Iraq and came across that female flight crew and me having a general interest
in mechanics already, that was it for me. [David] Being a radiologic technologist does
not mean that you are only taking x-rays. It's a lot broader than that.
[Harmony] The dental hygiene program is a two-year program. The instructors are very
knowledgeable and they help keep you focused on your learning so that you have all the
proficiencies and knowledge you need in order to graduate the program.
[David] The program is very demanding. It's basically a full-time job. You're expected
to put in forty-hours a week. [Ashley] I actually came to a few instructors,
and my sort of fear about mechanical background with is pretty much non-existent at the time.
They told me not to worry, that they are here to teach me. To teach me to be a mechanic,
a troubleshooter, a thinker. [David] My instructors did a great job preparing
me. They let me know that I am going to be having a year-long interview at my sites.
They get to see my work ethic. They get to see how I deal with co-workers. Also get to
see how I react to acute situations and then also what I am willing to bring to the team.
[Harmony] In our second semester we began working on actual patients that we brought
into the clinic. Clinic schedules could be pretty hectic, they are usually three and
a half hours long and sometimes we would have back-to-back clinic schedules.
[David] I am expected to do basically the role of a radiologic technologist. I am expected
to receive paperwork, check orders, bring the patient in and perform the exam correctly
and the correct exam on the correct patient, and I am also responsible for taking care
of the paperwork afterwards. [Ashley] What we do here and what we are learning
is important to the safety of the general public -- whether it be one person or everybody
on board. That really makes you want to make sure you did the job right.
[Harmony] I was very prepared for the transition from classroom to workplace because of the
high level of training that I received at Pima so there were no surprises when I got
out into the work field. [Ashley] And you do have a team, and you want
to keep them safe and you want to keep yourself safe as well and the personnel who is working
around you. So checklists really fall into play, making sure that the chalks are in,
making sure that your brakes are set. [Harmony] In order to receive your license
and work in the state of Arizona you have to complete a 2-hour clinical exam as well
as an 8-hour written exam. [Ashley] My favorite part is actually the
powerplant section -- working on the actual engine. It's amazing. It's amazing technology
that I get to fix. I get to put a wrench to it and make it work and troubleshoot it.
[Harmony] Because you get to see your classmates every day you get to be really close friends
with them so we ended up helping each other out a lot as well as having a lot of fun together.
[Ashley] These are the guys that I work with. I come to school and I see them 40 hours a
week. You know, you kind of build that relationship -- getting more comfortable with each other.
I want them to be able to talk to me and joke around and have fun. This is supposed to be
something that I want to do for the rest of my life. My career -- why not make it fun?
[David] This kind of degree is great because I can take it with me anywhere. Anywhere that
there's a hospital, a diagnostic imaging center, I can go. It opens so many doors, so many
doors. [Harmony] Everything just seemed to click
and fall in place for me and I realize this is really what I want to do with my life.
[Ashley] I would like to get my inspector's authorization, hopefully in 3-5 years, and
I would also like to become a pilot. I really want to learn how to fly. That's something
special to me that I think would be rewarding. I feel great about the fact that I now have
a career and it's something that I can fall back on regardless of where I go.