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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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

Mathew Joseph
Certified Surgical Technologist Presbyterian Hospital of Dallas
Surgical Technologist
School of Health Sciences
Updated September 22, 2026