Finding a path: A Humans of NIC Feature

Faith Carpenter is currently a student at NIC studying to be a surgical technologist. She can be found practicing her skills bedecked in scrubs at the Meyer Health and Sciences building on campus. Here is her story of how she decided to go down this route.

“I was a ski patroller at Lookout Pass and that’s what introduced me into the medical field.  I became interested in it but was also a bit overwhelmed because there’s a lot of things I could do, like EMT or maybe something else. I just didn’t know.

“As I went through the options I talked with my boyfriend about it.  He’s currently in med school and he inspired me a lot in the sense of doing something related to surgery, because he wants to be a surgeon.

“That’s something that got me looking into being a surgical technologist more. I’d been considering other things in the medical field like a radiologist tech, because I knew I wanted to do something in the medical world, I just didn’t know what that would be.

“When I was younger in school, I was very afraid of sticking to one career.”

“Once I figured that out that I wanted to do something related to the medical field, I started taking pre-requisites here at NIC.  I knew I wanted to do something that was rewarding and provided a good career, but didn’t require alot of school.

“When I was younger in school, I was very afraid of sticking to one career. Everyone would ask me, ‘what are you going to do for school? You have to pick something,’ and I had no idea.

“Over the past couple years I’ve done literally every job that you can imagine. I’ve been anywhere from service industry to ski patroller to zip-line tour guide, and also traveled abroad.

“I lived in New Zealand for 14 months and was able to spend time working and traveling around because I got a working holiday visa.  Working at various hostels allowed me to get free accommodation.  I also worked at a restaurant and a grocery store while I was there.

“As for studying to be a surgical technologist, I’m very glad that I got into this.  I was so afraid of getting stuck in a particular career choice but with this certification, I’ll be able to get a good education pretty fast.

“That way, if I end up hating it a few years down the road it’s not a big deal, because I haven’t devoted a large amount of time or money.  I also think too, that with the way the medical field is always changing, there’s always the option to change or study a different area, or do something completely different.

“Post graduation I plan to join my boyfriend who’s in school over down in Portland.  I’d like to be down there with him while he’s in medical school, however long that is, and I would love to work at OHSU down there.

“I decided to take the opportunity to do this now because I’m still living at home with my parents, and it seems like a good idea to get a year of school done and get my degree before life moves on.

“Becoming a surgical technologist has allowed me to find something that will be rewarding while also not confining me to a box.”