Radiological Technologist, Doctors Hospital
and Radiologic Sciences Faculty, El Centro College

“I was working retail when I got pregnant with my first son, and I was a stay-at-home mom for a while. I had no formal higher education, and I realized that if something happened to my husband, I would be responsible for raising this baby without enough education for a good job. Fortunately, my husband was really supportive of my going back to school.
 
“I first started a nursing program but realized quickly that nursing definitely wasn’t for me. I still wanted something in the medical field, something hands-on and technical, and I realized that radiology seemed to fit exactly what I wanted.
 
“I loved El Centro. Its campus isn’t spread out at all; it just goes straight up! From a security standpoint, that’s great. My priority was still to be a full-time mom, but the medical field is great in that it allows women the means to make a good income, feel good about yourself and still be at home with your kids several days a week. Right when I got out of school, I got pregnant with my second son, and I worked night and weekend shifts so I could still be with him most of the time.
 
“One of the best things about El Centro’s program, in my opinion, is that it’s a JCERT program — the highest level of certification and quality for a program that teaches radiologic sciences. That says a lot about El Centro College, and it really meant something to me. It was also important to me to have an associate degree to build on, so that I not only got the training but an education that I could go further with — which I’m now doing.”
 
Julia Harryman taught in El Centro’s Radiologic Sciences program as adjunct faculty before moving to a full-time teaching position in fall 2007. She is completing an online bachelor’s degree in radiology sciences at Midwestern State University and also works as a radiological technologist at Doctors Hospital in Dallas. She is certified in radiology and mammography.