Dallas College

Student Experience: Mathew Joseph

“I am from India, and I worked for nine years in the Middle East in IT. In 2006, I moved to the U.S. with my family and realized that IT jobs are moving out of the country. Since my wife is an operating room nurse and has been happy in her profession for the last 12 years, I also decided to switch my profession to a health care field. I opted for surgical technology as its demand in the job market is growing very high. 

“I entered the Surgical Technologist program at El Centro and really enjoyed the lectures from experienced teachers and the work in the well-maintained lab. It was also a wonderful experience doing my clinicals at Baylor and Parkland hospitals.

“I got good exposure to various specialties during my clinical at Parkland. Since Parkland is a teaching hospital, all their staff are experienced at teaching and explaining things, and it is a good place for students to do a clinical rotation. I learned a lot and developed a lot of confidence in my job skills. 

“I earned the certificate with good grades and was well prepared for the certified surgical technologist examination, which I passed in September 2008.”  Mathew Joseph earned a Surgical Technologist certificate from El Centro. He has been in his current position since November 2008.


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Alyssa Young

Alyssa Young

Nursing Student and Athlete
“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.”
Nursing
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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
Alice Madden

Alice Madden, CST, FAST

Certified Surgical Technologist Methodist Dallas Medical Center
“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.”
Surgical Technologist
Prayuth Phang

Prayuth Phang, RT(R)

Radiologic Technologist Community Portable X-ray Inc.
“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.”
General Studies, Radiologic Sciences

Mathew Joseph
Certified Surgical Technologist Presbyterian Hospital of Dallas
Surgical Technologist
School of Health Sciences
Updated July 28, 2026