SAN MATEO, Calif., Nov. 20, 2020—Two annual Gurnick-RadNet Scholarships were awarded Thursday, June 18, 2020, at Gurnick Academy of Medical Arts’ Sacramento campus. The award, established in 2019, seeks to reward “RadNet employees in good standing, who have demonstrated the desire, commitment, and ability to further their education, “ said Chris Gordon, VP of Operations for RadNet Organization’s Northern division.
The 2019 Gurnick-Radnet educational scholarship recipient was Christina Sanchez, a Patient Services Representative, who has worked with RadNet for over 13 years in the Sacramento office. This year, she enrolled in Gurnick’s Associate of Science in Radiologic Technology program and began coursework on July 6 at the Sacramento campus. Sanchez voiced her desire to enroll in the program because she became “fascinated with how the human body works” as part of her radiology fieldwork.
Sanchez loves knowing that the radiographs she produces “help diagnose patients and get them one step closer to recovery.” Of the award, Sanchez remarked, “This opportunity is incredibly life-changing for me. It is allowing me to further my education and build a future with my husband. I am so lucky to have RadNet supporting me, as they have throughout the years, and lucky to have been selected.”
The recipient of the 2020 Gurnick-Radnet educational scholarship was Kelli Oberto, a Patient Services Representative and Mammography Tech Aide, who has worked for over two years in RadNet’s Valley Radiology Samaritan office. Oberto was nominated for the scholarship and has now enrolled in the Associate of Science in Radiologic Technology program at the Concord campus. Oberto stated she wanted to go into the program because she has “always been interested in the medical field and the human body” and loves to “take pictures.” As “an X-Ray tech, I will be able to be involved in both daily.”
Oberto’s overall dream is to help her community stay healthy and happy. Of the award, she said, “I was on the waiting list at a local community college for over seven years, when my manager pulled me into the office [and] asked how I felt about going to Gurnick Academy. I began crying when she said she nominated me. It was honestly a dream come true for me. I am currently in my second quarter of the program, and I love it. I can’t wait until I can be a licensed tech working in the field. I wake up each morning, excited to be learning more and taking X-rays at my clinical site.”
“This is a mutually-rewarding partnership,” said Gordon of the award. The scholarship provides deserving individuals with an all-expense-paid experience, covering tuition, books, and fees upon full acceptance. The Associate of Science in Radiologic Technology Program, a two-year curriculum, costs about $59,412 as of November 4th, 2020.
Burke Malin, Gurnick’s Chief Operating Officer and facilitator of the award noted, “More than 60 percent of students are offered and accept full-time employment at their residential clinical sites.” According to Malin, work-study partnerships, such as this scholarship offered exclusively to RadNet employees, promote both the students and healthcare facilities that host them. The student gains experience and access to positions formerly not available. The clinical facility has a chance to review the skill sets and work ethics of the student externs. By tacking on HR, operations, and other facets of their business, the clinical site streamlines future hiring by replicating an informal onboarding process.
The need for the scholarship was born four to five years ago as Malin was accessing clinical partnerships. Believing this is a template for collaboration with additional partners, the Gurnick-RadNet scholarship offering goes far to make clinical training more efficient and cost-effective for Gurnick Academy’s students, said Malin. When the concept came to fruition, Malin was more than happy to help confer the two scholarships with the partnership of Chris Gordon, RadNet VP for Operations, and Norman Hames, RadNet Westcoast Division President, and COO. Presenting the awards to the scholarship winners were Maria Thornton, RadNet Northern California DOP; Melanie Santiago, RadNet DOP; and Christy Foster Bollman, Gurnick Executive Director of the A.S. in Radiologic Technology Program.
“Through these relationships, we plan to explore similar partnership opportunities, as the opportunities present themselves, in turn opening up additional, high-quality training sites for our students,” summarized Malin.
The mission of Gurnick Academy is to offer quality, allied-health programs, including nursing and imaging-based education, that integrate professional skills, career-focused training, and hands-on, practical experiences by empowering students to develop and achieve their personal and career goals.
# # #
For more information regarding Gurnick Academy’s Radiologic Technology program, visit: https://www.gurnick.edu/programs/radiologic-technology-program/.
To see award ceremony videos, see links below:
- Burke Malin on the partnership: https://vimeo.com/gurnick/radnet1
- Chris Gordon on the partnership: https://vimeo.com/gurnick/radnet2
- Norman Hames on the partnership: https://vimeo.com/gurnick/radnet3
- Christina Sanchez, scholarship recipient: https://vimeo.com/gurnick/radnet4
- Kellie Oberto, scholarship recipient: https://vimeo.com/gurnick/radnet5
Contact: Cindy Chamberlin
SEO Writer Gurnick Academy
cchamberlin@gurnick.edu