Dallas College

Student Experience: Loni McElhinney

“I became interested in the Medical Laboratory Technology program because I had always enjoyed the laboratory components of my science classes, and I wanted a career in the medical field.  “Once I was accepted into the program, I found the instructors to be personable and knowledgeable, and they made me feel well prepared for my clinical rotations. Lisa Lock and Denise Griffin always make sure that everyone understands the material and really want their students to succeed. 

“I believe that my education from El Centro will enable me to easily find employment in a laboratory when I finish the program. There are so many areas and options in the laboratory field, and I personally hope to work in microbiology. 

“I have applied to the distance learning program at the University of Texas Medical Branch to earn a Bachelor of Science degree in clinical laboratory sciences. I feel confident that the Medical Laboratory Technology program at El Centro prepared me for higher education in the laboratory sciences.” 

Loni McElhinney received her associate degree in Medical Laboratory Technology in June 2008 from El Centro and was named the program’s 2008 Outstanding Student. Immediately after graduation, she was hired as an MLT by the blood bank at Medical Center of Plano, where she types patients’ blood and tests it for antibodies to ensure that they don’t have a negative transfusion reaction when receiving donor blood.


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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

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
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
Kelly Freeman

Kelly Freeman

Dental Hygiene Student
“What's interesting to me in classes is the precision of radiology, and how you can change things in an X-ray that can affect the whole ballgame. The instruction is great: the books give you the info, and then when you're practicing on Dexter (the mannequin) you get hands-on experience of how things need to be done correctly.”
Dental Hygiene
Loni McElhinney
Loni McElhinney
Medical Laboratory Technician Medical Center of Plano Blood Bank
Medical Laboratory Technology
School of Health Sciences
Updated September 9, 2026