From the traumatic death of a parent to a rural community in dire need of health services, this year’s winners of the American Proficiency Institute (API) Scholarship found the clinical laboratory through life-altering experiences.
API awarded $5,000 scholarships to: Emily Bryant at the University of Kentucky in Lexington, Kentucky; Christina Martinez at Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences in Albany, New York; Cole Petrilla at The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio; and Riley Theroes at Mount Marty University in Yankton, South Dakota. All are rising seniors focused on medical laboratory science curriculums.
After working for years in Eastern Kentucky, Bryant discovered the clinical laboratory science career path. “I saw firsthand how these skilled professionals applied science and math to generate critical data about patients’ health,” she explained. “The stark reality of diabetes in Eastern Kentucky, where it affects one in five residents, has made understanding the clinical laboratory’s role in diagnosis and monitoring particularly compelling to me.”
Noting her grandmother’s cancer misdiagnosis, Martinez said, “I want to not only promote accurate and detailed analysis of future patient samples, but I also wish to pursue a career that will allow me to ensure detailed tests are performed with care.”
“I remember the exact sentence that converted me into the lab pathway,” added Petrilla. “Putting the pieces of a patient’s history together, you have to look at every test like it is the test that might diagnose a patient.”
“My mother passed away in an accident the day of my high school graduation,” said Theroes. “I was in the darkest moment of my life when I began working as a laboratory intern. Despite the fact that the lab had no windows, it gave me the brightest future. Helping others, even if it’s from a background role, is what I want to do. I want to be a medical laboratory scientist for that lab, myself, and my mom.”
