{"id":846,"date":"2020-10-27T18:06:12","date_gmt":"2020-10-27T22:06:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tsc.edu\/news-and-events\/?p=846"},"modified":"2021-03-26T17:09:33","modified_gmt":"2021-03-26T21:09:33","slug":"neither-pandemic-nor-family-could-hold-back-medical-laboratory-technology-graduate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tsc.edu\/news-and-events\/2020\/10\/27\/neither-pandemic-nor-family-could-hold-back-medical-laboratory-technology-graduate\/","title":{"rendered":"Neither pandemic nor family could hold back Medical Laboratory Technology graduate"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"TSC<\/div>\n

COVID-19 has brought a lot of uncertainty, and for Texas Southmost College alumnus Fernando Gonzalez it threw a wrench into his graduation and career plans, but with patience and hope he is now where he is supposed to be.<\/p>\n

The Los Fresnos native graduated with an associate degree in Medical Laboratory Technology in May, which Gonzalez said only happened because of his instructors.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn March when COVID hit, everything stopped, including my hospital rotations,\u201d said the 25-year-old. \u201cAnd if I couldn\u2019t finish, I couldn\u2019t graduate.\u201d<\/p>\n

With his degree in limbo, it also meant he would have to decline a job offer he had already received.<\/p>\n

Fortunately, for Gonzalez and his classmates, his instructors were understanding about the situation and worked diligently at creating alternate methods that would still fulfill course requirements.<\/p>\n

\u201cSince we couldn\u2019t physically go to the hospitals, we focused on research,\u201d said Gonzalez. \u201cAnd I\u2019m so thankful for this because it allowed me to graduate and begin my career, a career that COVID also delayed.\u201d<\/p>\n

COVID-19 delayed his start date as a medical laboratory technician at Valley Baptist Micro Hospital in Weslaco by four months since his job interview in February.<\/p>\n

He has now been employed at the hospital since June.<\/p>\n

\u201cI never thought I would immediately get a job. I was preparing myself for a long job search, but it all worked out, COVID and all,\u201d he said. \u201cIt was difficult, but I kept a positive mindset and I think it helped, because things slowly started falling into place.\u201d<\/p>\n

COVID-19 remains a challenge for Gonzalez because, as a laboratory technician, he is conducting COVID-19 testing and reporting results.<\/p>\n

\u201cNever did anyone expect a virus to take over our lives and have a place in everything we do, especially as a new lab technician,\u201d said Gonzalez. \u201cBut it was the training I received at TSC that prepared me for such a challenging role.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gonzalez said conducting COVID-19 tests requires careful planning because of the personal protective equipment, such as gowns and shields, he must wear to avoid exposure, and because COVID testing also requires a designated area.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is no room for carelessness or lack of attention because everyone\u2019s health is on the line,\u201d he said. \u201cThe high standards expected of us in our program, the knowledge our instructors shared and their training exposed us early on to what\u2019s expected of us and how to manage such a demanding role.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gonzalez is grateful to TSC because he says the college helped him turn his life around, especially as a first-generation college graduate. In addition to COVID-19, he also had to overcome his family\u2019s disapproval.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere were some that believed I should have gone straight to work and didn\u2019t like that I was in college,\u201d he said. \u201cThis really encouraged me to continue. I wanted to prove to everyone that college is the answer. And guess what, it was. It turned my life around.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gonzalez said he hopes that his accomplishments can serve as examples for his six younger brothers and sisters. After all, it encouraged his mother to go back to school.<\/p>\n

\u201cCollege, which was once unorthodox for my family, has now broken barriers and there is no regret in going against some of the people I love the most,\u201d he said. \u201cTSC has changed my life and created a path toward opportunity for all of us.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the future, Gonzalez plans on gaining additional certifications, growing in the field and continuing his education toward a bachelor\u2019s degree.<\/p>\n

Visit TSC\u2019s Medical Laboratory Technology<\/a> program for more information.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

COVID-19 has brought a lot of uncertainty, and for Texas Southmost College alumnus Fernando Gonzalez it threw a wrench into his graduation and career plans, but with patience and hope he is now where he is supposed to be. The Los Fresnos native graduated with an associate degree in Medical Laboratory Technology in May, which […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":158,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_gspb_post_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-846","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nNeither pandemic nor family could hold back Medical Laboratory Technology graduate - News and Events<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Los Fresnos native Fernando Gonzalez graduated with an associate degree in Medical Laboratory Technology in May 2020 from Texas Southmost College.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tsc.edu\/news-and-events\/2020\/10\/27\/neither-pandemic-nor-family-could-hold-back-medical-laboratory-technology-graduate\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Neither pandemic nor family could hold back Medical Laboratory Technology graduate\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Los Fresnos native Fernando Gonzalez graduated with an associate degree in Medical Laboratory Technology in May 2020 from Texas Southmost College.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.tsc.edu\/news-and-events\/2020\/10\/27\/neither-pandemic-nor-family-could-hold-back-medical-laboratory-technology-graduate\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"News and Events\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-10-27T22:06:12+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-03-26T21:09:33+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.tsc.edu\/news-and-events\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/10\/MLT-Fernando-Gonzalez-300x200-1.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.tsc.edu\\\/news-and-events\\\/2020\\\/10\\\/27\\\/neither-pandemic-nor-family-could-hold-back-medical-laboratory-technology-graduate\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.tsc.edu\\\/news-and-events\\\/2020\\\/10\\\/27\\\/neither-pandemic-nor-family-could-hold-back-medical-laboratory-technology-graduate\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"\",\"@id\":\"\"},\"headline\":\"Neither pandemic nor family could hold back Medical Laboratory Technology graduate\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-10-27T22:06:12+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-03-26T21:09:33+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.tsc.edu\\\/news-and-events\\\/2020\\\/10\\\/27\\\/neither-pandemic-nor-family-could-hold-back-medical-laboratory-technology-graduate\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":610,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.tsc.edu\\\/news-and-events\\\/2020\\\/10\\\/27\\\/neither-pandemic-nor-family-could-hold-back-medical-laboratory-technology-graduate\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.tsc.edu\\\/news-and-events\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2020\\\/10\\\/MLT-Fernando-Gonzalez-300x200-1.jpg\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.tsc.edu\\\/news-and-events\\\/2020\\\/10\\\/27\\\/neither-pandemic-nor-family-could-hold-back-medical-laboratory-technology-graduate\\\/#respond\"]}],\"copyrightYear\":\"2020\",\"copyrightHolder\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.tsc.edu\\\/#organization\"}},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.tsc.edu\\\/news-and-events\\\/2020\\\/10\\\/27\\\/neither-pandemic-nor-family-could-hold-back-medical-laboratory-technology-graduate\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.tsc.edu\\\/news-and-events\\\/2020\\\/10\\\/27\\\/neither-pandemic-nor-family-could-hold-back-medical-laboratory-technology-graduate\\\/\",\"name\":\"Neither pandemic nor family could hold back Medical Laboratory Technology graduate - 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