Dalton State College

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Michelle Reagan always knew that she wanted to do something in the medical field, but for a long time, she didn’t know “just what.” But in a few short months, she’ll complete the Radiologic Technology program at Dalton State and will begin a career in a field that she has grown to consider her life’s “calling.” “For a number of years, I worked at Chattanooga Outpatient Center starting as a receptionist and then moving into a Technical Assistant position. I discovered that I liked both working with technology and working with the radiologists on staff. I formed a wonderful relationship with patients and my co-workers,” says Reagan, who credits the people she worked with for inspiring her to enter the Rad Tech program. The Ringgold native, a graduate of Lakeview-Ft. Oglethorpe High School, initially worked as a certified nursing assistant before getting married at the age of 19.
“When I started taking classes here in the early 1990s, I had to drop out of school because of a difficult pregnancy,” says Reagan, 34, and the mother of thirteen-year-old Brandon. “What I didn’t realize at the time is that I should have gone through the formal withdrawal process,” she says, noting that if she had gone through the process she would have received “W’s” instead of failing grades for some of those attempted hours. “That mistake on my part resulted in a terrible GPA.” When she came back to Dalton State in 2003, Reagan needed to complete her core course work and improve her grade point average in order to be admitted to the highly-selective Rad Tech program. “I took some of my core courses at the DSC Catoosa Center because it was more convenient for me and closer to my work,” says Reagan, who initially started out as a part-time student. While a “second-go-round” student at Dalton State, Reagan has made the dean’s list all but one semester, and she has earned a DSC Foundation Healthcare Scholarship, which provided $1200 toward her expenses. In May of 2005, after working “very, very hard” to improve her GPA, she was admitted into the program and began taking classes and participating in clinical rotations. She has enjoyed the program, both for the instruction she’s received and for the camaraderie with her fellow students. “We’ve gone through as a group, which has provided us with a lot of support,” she says, noting that she and her classmates frequently form informal study groups to prepare for tests. The coursework had been very challenging, she says, but instructor Kraig Wilkinson is “very thorough,” and program director Susan West “knows what it takes to get us where we need to be.” “I think we’ll be very well prepared when we take the registry in May,” says Reagan. Once she graduates, Reagan hopes to return to work for an outpatient diagnostic center, perhaps even the one where her dream to become a Rad Tech was born. “I’d also like to go ahead and become registered for MRI, CT, and other modalities,” says Reagan, noting that she can’t wait to get started. “I enjoy helping people. That’s who I am.”