Dallas College

Student Experience: Oanh Kim Nguyen, MLT(ASCP)

“When I first came to the U.S. from Vietnam, I worked in a Vietnamese restaurant and then a clothing store. Then I began working in an electronics company, but I was laid off. I felt shocked about losing my job, and I began thinking of changing careers to something more stable. 

“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. 

“Lisa Lock is very patient with students. The program can be very fast-paced, especially if you’re taking classes during the summer or Maymester. But she explains things so well that you can understand them and keep up. 

“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.”

  Kim Nguyen is an MLT in the hematology and chemistry department of Methodist Medical Center of Dallas, where she analyzes and verifies tests. She earned an associate degree in Medical Laboratory Technology from El Centro in 2007 and was immediately hired by the hospital following a clinical rotation there.


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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
Kim Nguyen
Oanh Kim Nguyen, MLT(ASCP)
Medical Laboratory Technician Methodist Medical Center of Dallas
English as a Second Language (ESL and ESOL), Medical Laboratory Technology
School of Health Sciences
Updated September 22, 2026