Feb. 26, 2016
Volunteering is how I give back to the professional community that has done so much for me over the years.
ASRT Foundation donors helped change my life through the many programs they make possible. I want to help others in the profession in the same way by giving my time to help support our community.
I currently volunteer as a member of the International Speakers Exchange Award Review Committee. A committee that got me involved in the profession on an international level. I find it extremely rewarding to be able to help provide that same opportunity through this committee. I am happy to be able to help select recipients who will represent the U.S. in other countries and learn from their international colleagues.
My first experience with the Foundation was when I was the fortunate recipient of several donor-funded scholarships that helped me earn bachelor’s and master’s degrees. If not for this assistance, I am not sure I would have been able to further my education. I was working as a staff therapist and paying off my student loans for my radiography and radiation therapy training when I decided to pursue my bachelor’s degree. I was later promoted to program director, which required that I earn a master’s degree.
At the same time, my wife, Emily, was pursuing her undergraduate and graduate degrees, which made the scholarships I received even more important to us. The support from the Foundation made attending school full time while raising our two daughters, Paige and Reese, and working full time more financially feasible.
I doubt I would be in my current position, director of CoxHealth Cancer Center – Branson and the Urgent Care CoxHealth Medical Center Branson, without the support of the Foundation and the incredible generosity of donors like you. It’s because of people like you that I was able to gain the education and experience I needed to reach this point in my career.
I became even more aware of everything the Foundation and its supporters make possible when I was selected as a 2009 International Speakers Exchange Award recipient and presented at the Canadian Association of Medical Radiation Technologists Annual General Conference in Vancouver. It was an honor to be chosen from so many qualified applicants.
The opportunity allowed me to see that many of the issues facing U.S. radiation therapists and radiologic technologists are the same in Canada and in most countries of the developed world. It showed me that regardless of geographic location, we are all part of the same professional community and face similar issues.
Besides being a great learning experience, it deepened my commitment to the profession and led me to want to give back to our community through the ASRT Foundation.
It was important to me that I help others in the same way I had been helped, that I paid forward the kindness and generosity I had been shown. I also wanted to continue to be a part of the important work of the Foundation. The most meaningful way for me to do that was by volunteering to serve on a Foundation committee.
Through their support, ASRT Foundation donors give medical imaging and radiation therapy professionals like you and me the opportunity to advance their education and become more involved in the international community. I believe we all should do our part to ensure a bright future for our community by giving back in a way that is meaningful to each of us.
The Foundation and its programs helped build my career and enriched my life, and I feel privileged to be able to continue the legacy of the donors and volunteers before me. I am forever grateful for what donors and the Foundation have done for me, and I hope you will join me in being an ASRT Foundation supporter.