School of Health Sciences Student Experiences

“Community college gives you the opportunity to grow into adulthood while figuring out what you want to do with your life. With all of the resources available, it gives everyone a stable place to begin their college journey.”

“I chose El Centro one, it was closer to home. It was a little more affordable than going to somewhere out of state or somewhere else. Just those two things were, were the main thing, the reason why I chose to go to El Centro. I think El Centro did an excellent job of preparing me for going into the workforce.”

“I will continue to be involved and to encourage and motivate surgical technologists to be the best they can be in all surgical specialties. I want to encourage all surgical technologists to become certified and become members of the AST and the Texas State Assembly.”

“Dallas College has a lot of programs for people who want to have a better life with education. I strongly recommend other students to join this program — they have the best teachers who really care about their students, as well as financial help available. I love what I’m doing, and I will continue doing it to serve people.”

“My experience in the Vet Tech program prepared me to both pass my boards and also feel prepared for a real-life career. I gained knowledge and confidence and felt supported and helped along the way by my instructors.”

“When I was going through my intensive care unit residency, I compared notes with my colleagues, and I felt like I had more clinical experience and exposure than registered nurses who had gone through a four-year program.”

“I never thought I could even go to college. Now I have two associate degrees and a bachelor’s degree. Going to El Centro taught me discipline and how to completely restructure my life as to what was most important. Sometimes I hear people say, ‘Oh, you don’t know what it’s like where I come from.’ But I do know. I’ve been there, and I never want to go back. And now that I have an education, I’ll never have to.”

“As a registered and licensed professional, I couldn’t work in this profession without the education I have. Education can change your life. You have to focus on what’s really important to you and then concentrate on that.”

“I really like the preclinical class and am learning a lot about infectious disease control and how to hold and maneuver instruments. It helps that the instructors are great and have already been in the profession.”

“What I like about this as a career is that oral hygiene can help people have better health and live longer. This is a good job — everyone has teeth! So it’s a profession guaranteed to always have jobs available. I'm looking forward to having an impact on people’s lives in a healthy way.”

“I will definitely recommend this program to other students because of the quality of the education I got. With the state-of-the art facility and experienced instructors, I achieved my goal, and I’m sure that everybody that went through the program will say the same thing.”

“My professors in Health Profession Readiness courses were all very helpful and ready to help me actually learn the information and not just memorize it. The professors at El Centro are willing to put in the work and effort to help their students pass their courses and get closer to completing their degree.”

“There have been moments in my life when I saw how much of a difference one person can make simply by showing up. ... Those experiences drew me toward emergency medicine.”

“My first experience at community college was taking ESL classes at Richland and Brookhaven, which were close to where I lived. Then when I started exploring what kind of program I wanted to take for a career change, I saw Medical Laboratory Technology and transferred to El Centro ... I always tell people who are thinking about community college to think about Medical Laboratory Technology, and I tell them about my personal experience with the program. It’s a stable job, in a quiet environment with a lot less stress than many other medically related fields, and the people are very friendly and professional. I really love my job.”

“Our instructors had high expectations and saw our potential. They let us know that it wasn’t going to be easy, but it wasn’t going to be insurmountable either.”

“Community college gave me everything I needed to take and succeed in classes for an advanced degree.”

“Respiratory therapists are not just technicians trained to deliver treatments and therapies with different types of equipment. We have to truly comprehend a wide range of topics and how they relate to a patient’s condition.”

“When a patient who is in pain, upset or nervous tells you that you made them feel better or just simply tells you 'thank you' with a smile, it makes your hard work worth it. That is the reason I am in this field, and that is what will keep me in it forever.”

“My experience at El Centro was wonderful. The program included online classes plus clinicals three or four days a week. We had the flexibility to do our homework at our own convenience, either doing a little every night or doing it all over the weekend, whatever worked best for us.”

“The best part of my education was the nursing staff. They are just so caring and supportive. They’re there to make sure you get all of the help and support you need. The most important thing I learned is that you’re never too old to set a goal and achieve it.”