Apr. 22, 2019
Rendi Kelly, a radiologic science student at College of Southern Idaho in Twin Falls, Idaho, was the grand-prize winner in the 2018 ASRT Foundation Annual Drawing.
“My husband, Mickie, and I had never been to Hawaii, and coming from Idaho — with the snow and wind — it was an obvious choice and a refreshing change,” Rendi said. “We were in shorts and T-shirts the whole time.”
Rendi, who is busy with school, clinicals, work (she works PRN at a hospital), and running their family’s small farm, said it was hard, at first, getting used to being on island time. “I’m used to hurry, hurry, hurry,” she said. “But on Maui, people don’t get in a hurry…for anything.’ However, it didn’t take her long to adjust to the slower pace.
“It was wonderful to be able to sit on the lanai and drink coffee in the morning or stroll along the beach. Of all the wonderful things we did and saw, the best part of the trip was being able to spend quality time with each other.” Rendi and Mickie also used the trip to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary. “We had planned to go on a weekend trip somewhere close. A trip to Maui was so much better!”
The best event they participated in during their trip, she said, was a boat tour that allowed them to spend a day whale watching and visiting a private island. On the way to the island, dolphins escorted the boat in. While on the island, they snorkeled in the tide pool and saw colorful tropical fish. But Mother Nature saved the best for last.
“On our way back to Maui at the end of the day, we came up on a mother humpback whale with her calf and two male whales next to them, fighting for the honor of escorting them. Then a third male whale came up right by the boat and moved in on the two males. It was amazing watching them spray water from their mouths to try to disorient each other and get them to back off. During the fight—about 30 minutes—we thought about recording it but didn’t want to miss a thing. In the end, we were glad we didn’t watch it all through the lens of a camera.”
The biggest surprise, Rendi said, wasn’t the sparring whales, or the masses of colorful flowers, or even the fresh coconut on nearly every corner. It was seeing the “flocks of chickens running around town and laying eggs in random patches of grass.” A local they asked about it said that the chickens eat the centipedes.
“It was an amazing trip, and I can’t thank the Foundation and ASRT enough for the wonderful memories it provided us,” Rendi said. “As a student, buying annual drawing tickets is one way I can give back to the profession I’m joining.”
She has already bought her tickets for the 2019 annual drawing. “I’m all for spending money on great causes,” she said. “Knowing that my money will go to programs that support medical imaging and radiation therapy professionals and students made it an easy decision. I bought 10 tickets again.”
Rendi graduates May 10, 2019, with an associate of applied science in radiological technology. She said ASRT will absolutely be a part of her career.