(HARLINGEN, Texas) – In recent months the world has gone digital. Learning from home has become the new normal, and that new normal means that even though students may be many miles from a Texas State Technical College campus, they can still receive quality technical instruction.
El Paso resident and New Jersey native Emily Mancini recently became a TSTC Board of Regents honor graduate on her quest to obtain an Associate of Applied Science degree in Biomedical Equipment Technology. While her initial goal was to graduate with a 4.0 GPA, the feat was not a simple one.
“Working full time while maintaining a household wasn’t easy,” she said. “Thankfully I was able to take nine credit hours a semester. I wasn’t too overworked, and I could still focus on performing well with all my assignments.”
Mancini’s journey into biomedical equipment technology started in 2014, when she began her education in the U.S. Army. She began working in the field in El Paso the following year.
“I came across TSTC while in search of transferring those credits I had already earned to a state school to complete my associate degree,” she explained. “It took me a few years to get the drive to go back to school, but once I did, I wish I had gone sooner.”
Currently, her occupation as a biomedical equipment technician is keeping her busy.
“I maintain, repair, and calibrate medical equipment technology throughout my hospital, urgent care facilities, and over 30 outlying clinics.”
Despite living in El Paso, her daily commute across state lines into Las Cruces, New Mexico, gives her an opportunity to clear her mind every morning and evening.
“It’s about a 45-minute drive,” she said. “It’s mostly all highway. It’s nice not having to deal with much traffic, and I get to enjoy some alone time.”
Mancini offered words of encouragement for future TSTC students who might follow in her footsteps of graduating with honors.
“Speaking as someone who is not coming right out of high school, it takes definite motivation to want to go back to school,” she said. “It takes even more motivation to graduate with honors, but it is worth it. Be proud of your accomplishments and determination. Don’t settle for ‘well, this is good enough, I just need to pass.’ Do the best you can, and make time to achieve your goals.”
Fall registration is currently underway. To learn more, visit tstc.edu.
