In high school, Alfonso Ortiz developed an interest in the study of music and medicine. Today, the 20-year-old maintains a fondness for music, but the educational opportunities he has experienced at Laredo Community College have led him to pursue a medical career.
Ortiz is realizing his dream through an allied health program, Medical Laboratory Technology, that offers an important foundation in medicine and an alternate path to medical school.
“For some students, medical lab technology—which is the study of diagnostics at the cellular level—may seem like an unlikely route to start a career in medicine,” says LCC Allied Health Department Chair and MLT Instructor Norma Moore. “But, it can actually be a great stepping stone to enter the fields of medicine, forensics, public health, infectious diseases and pharmacology.”
Ortiz’ choice of career path validated Moore’s viewpoint.
As a student at Alexander High School, Ortiz was a band member and participated in the Magnet School of Health and Sciences.
“I developed a love for music through my years in band,” Ortiz remembers. “However, when I entered the magnet school in my junior year, I discovered I enjoyed helping people and finding a patient’s diagnosis.”
Ortiz enrolled in the fall of 2002 at LCC. In his first year, he enrolled in various classes, including music. But, it was a science class and its instructor which led him to choose medicine over music.
“Dr. Fernando Prince and his class inspired me more to get into the medical field,” says Ortiz.
At the start of his second year of college, Ortiz had choices to make about his future career goal. With some encouragement from his faculty-mentors, Ortiz enrolled in the Medical Lab Technology program offered at LCC.
“It’s vital to have the medical lab where a patient’s diagnosis is made,” said Ortiz. “That is why I chose to become a medical lab technician…to be part of one of the most important aspects of a hospital, where cures are discovered to bring a person back to good health.”
Ortiz describes himself as a person who “once I start something, I finish it.” This spring, he completed his full-time semester coursework with all A’s.
His determination, his passion for his chosen field and the valuable guidance he has received from his college instructors are helping him realize his career ambition.
Ortiz plans to obtain his associate’s degree in MLT from LCC. Then he plans to transfer to the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio or Galveston before entering medical school. Ortiz and his 24-year-old brother are the first in their family to pursue undergraduate degrees. His brother also began his studies at LCC, where he earned an associate’s degree in criminal justice before continuing toward a four-year degree.
Moore noted that as a certified medical lab technician, Ortiz will be able to hold a job and study.
“The skills that Alfonso learns as an MLT will help him later in life to finance his education,” Moore said.
The MLT program at LCC offers a two-year Associate in Applied Science Degree. Students study the theoretical and practical aspects of diagnostic laboratory work including hematology, blood cell study, medical microbiology, clinical chemistry and much more.
The MLT graduate is eligible to take the national certification examination for Medical Laboratory Technicians offered by the American Society of Clinical Pathologists Board of Registry.
Among the requirements to enter the program, the student must have completed one semester of college chemistry and/or college biology. The deadline to apply for fall 2004 admission is August 15.
For more information, contact the LCC Allied Health Department by calling 721-5261 or by email at nmoore@laredo.edu.
Alfonso Ortiz
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