Dallas College

Student Experience: Aju Mathew, FF/Paramedic

“What interested me most about this program was that it allowed me to do what I like the most — help people. It also helped me to challenge myself in different ways and push myself to the limit.

“The best experience I had was spending time with people in my class who had the same passion as I did. The friendships we built during the program were very special and something that I will keep for the rest of my life.

“The education I got from Dallas College was one-of-a-kind. The instructors had real-life experience, good knowledge of the subject and have been in this field for a long time. Their experience, combined with the curriculum, really helped me to get a head start.

“The most important thing I learned was that you can achieve your goals if you put your heart and mind into it. If you do something because you love it, you will definitely succeed. I never saw myself at the position that I am right now, but the education I got helped me to get here.

“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.”

Aju Mathew received his Paramedic certification in 2007. He's still enrolled in Dallas College and is working on an associate degree in EMS-Paramedicine. He has served as a full-time firefighter/paramedic with the Prosper Fire Department since 2008.


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Zlatko Prijic, RRT

Pulmonary Rehab Coordinator Baylor University Medical Center
“I think I'd recommend El Centro to anybody, and I always do. If someone wants to go into respiratory or wants to learn more about respiratory, I point them in that direction.”
Respiratory Care Program
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Jose (Josey) George, RCIS, LMRT

Registered Cardiovascular Invasive Specialist Baylor Garland Hospital
“My training and education at El Centro provided me with the knowledge and skills required to perform my job very well as an invasive cardiovascular specialist. The best part of my job is the satisfaction I gain at the end of each day, due to the fact that I’ve made a difference in my patients’ and their families’ lives by being a part of the lifesaving medical team.”
Invasive Cardiovascular Technology

Lupe Ortiz, RRT, NPS

Respiratory Care Practitioner Baylor University Medical Center
“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.”
Respiratory Care Program
Margaret Lembcke

Margaret Lembcke

Health Information Associate II, Parkland Health and Hospital System, Dallas and Baylor Medical Center at Irving
“There’s not a thing I don’t use from the information I learned in the Medical Front Office program. The classes did a very good job of teaching skills that we’d really need. We were always learning from people who have worked in the field, not just learned information in a classroom.”
Medical Front Office
Aju Mathew
Aju Mathew, FF/Paramedic
Firefighter/Paramedic Prosper Fire Department
Emergency Medical Services (EMS)
School of Health Sciences
Updated September 10, 2026