Page 102 - 50th Alumni Success Stories Book

Sholanda Henry I was raising four children and getting away from a
domestic abuse situation when I moved to Las Vegas. I
Respiratory Therapy Program had been to college for accounting and business, but
Las Vegas Campus knew I needed a new direction. Through my daughter’s
asthma and my exposure to the medical field, I realized
Graduated 2008 I wanted to help others. After researching, I found Pima
Medical Institute’s Respiratory Therapy program and
ended up getting the last spot in my class.

Toward the end of the program, my daughter was
kidnapped. I still made it to my clinical site after looking
for her all over Vegas and putting up posters. I was so
close to graduation and didn’t want to quit. It is certainly
an accelerated program and wasn’t easy, but my
instructors saw potential in me and pushed me. In fact,
one of my instructors spent extra time tutoring me on
mechanical ventilation so I wouldn’t fail. Thankfully, we
ended up finding my daughter. It was such a painful
time in my life, but when I walked across that stage at
graduation, I felt so fulfilled.
I had several job offers, but chose to accept a respiratory
therapist position at University Medical Center where I
had completed my clinicals. Later, my career took me
to Veterans Affairs where I ran a C-Pap Clinic for a time.
Currently, my husband and I own our own company,
Simply Medical Recruiting. We even work with Pima
Medical’s career services department to help find
positions for their graduates.

Pima Medical is a gateway to a

better life. It has changed my life

and has continued to open doors for

me.

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