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Jonathan Salcido
English 1A
STACC

My Road to Becoming a Radiologic Technologist
The educational experiences that I had in my past and present did have a profound impact on the
mindset I had at that moment and on the one I have now, portraying the situations as a creator not a
victim will help me in my life and career. Educational experiences from the past can range from me
having to fight a kid for bullying my little brother in elementary and winning 1st place in a art
contest in Lillian St. Elementary. When I attended 6th Avenue Elementary School in the 5th grade
there was a racial riot between Latinos and Blacks. This event changed my mindset of a negligent
student into the growth mindset of a student that wanted to be something in life and would later move
away from that urban area. Another experience I remember from 6th Avenue Elementary was when it
came time to graduate, we each had to go up to the microphone and say what we wanted to be when we
grow up. My friend said she wanted to be a wrestler while I on the other hand said "I want to be a
astronaut", little did I know becoming a astronaut can be very hard and takes lots of time.
After leaving Elementary, I attended a charter school named Celerity Nascent Charter School
from 6th to 8th grade. While attending this school many positive things happened, such as how we shared
the playground with the public school that our charter school was in, we got to play sports and exercise
and had student recognition at the end of each month. The school also participated in the honor roll
program, classes that had no absences were given a pizza or ice cream party as well. During those 3 years
I just focused on passing my classes in order to go to high school. The only memorable things that I can
remember is my graduation and art teacher. I was one of the best artist in school along with my old friend
Jamal Hopes, we would always be asked to draw something for someone whether it was for class or just

personal use. Once it was time of graduation I remember changing my mindset of me being undecided
about my career into just the realization of me wanting to work in the medical field.
After graduating Celerity Nascent Charter School I attended a high school named New Designs Charter
School, apparently connected to my charter middle school. I was surprised by the size of the school,
which was much bigger than my last school. It was a good experience, even though this high school
couldn't compare in size to University High, I was still happy. I was also happy to find out that some of
my friends transferred to New Designs as well. The uniforms seemed too much but I couldn't do anything
about it. I had to wear a dress shirt, tie, khaki pants and a vest. There was three different academies to
choose from, Medical, Computer and Law. Sadly I think those academies changed throughout time. I
chose the medical academy due to my intense interest in medicine. One day in the 9th grade, Charles
Drew University came to visit my school. They were talking about all the programs, careers they have
to offer and started talking about x-rays. That's when I was hooked and my mindset was complete. I
knew from there on out that I could be the creator of my future, I wanted to become a radiologic
technologist (rad tech). I wanted to help people feel better and give back to the world.
This was when my road to becoming a radiologic technologist started. During my 9th grade year I was
just focused on attending Charles Drew University, and I was trying my hardest not to fail any classes. I
honestly did have struggles with my math and science classes but I didn't care, I kept pushing myself and
passed all my A-G requirement classes. By the 10th grade I was still doing fine, still had my mind set to
my chosen career and passed. During the end of 11th grade I made a horrible mistake; I decided to
transfer out of my school into a big public school called University High School (UHS). My reason was
that I was to bored of my charter school and needed to feel the life of a normal high school teenager at
least once.
When starting UHS I was amazed to know that my charter high school prepared me to a maximum
level for college. I was over credits and only had 5 periods my first semester and only 4 periods my last
one. Senior year was a year I will never forget and I will never regret the change of schools. I was happy

and feeling confident that I would attend Charles Drew University. Once applying I had to attain 3 letters
of recommendation: one in science, math, and any other teacher of your choice. I had gotten my science
and any choice teacher but was missing my math recommendation, I went to my old charter school and
went looking for my old math teacher. Sadly, my teacher had moved away and I had no other choice but
to cancel the application. In this situation I played the "victim" because his new housing address was
private and I couldn't obtain it due to school policy, I couldn't be the creator of this situation but did have
a growth mind set to resolve it. While a Creator, are people that are always "taking ownership of the
problem and taking positive actions to solve it" (Rogers 5), a person with a growth mindset "..care about
learning. When they make a mistake or exhibit a deficiency, they correct it" (Dweck 2) they find a new
way to accomplish the same goal. Instead in this situation I couldn't do anything about it. It was the last
months before graduation and I had to pick a college quickly. My first choice of college was Santa
Monica college, but sadly they didn't offer the radiology program and only had available a associates of
arts. Then I found out about Kaplan College but was informed that their program is only a certificate
program not a degree. I Googled colleges that had all of the requirements of my career and stumbled upon
a college name Pasadena City College, offering the science degree that I needed along with the career
program to become a Radiologic Technologist.
My first year in PCC was a busy one. I had a math class that was held Monday through Friday, an
Monday and Wednesday an English course, and on Monday I also had a co-requisite for my English class
which would finish at 8pm. Due to the far distance of my house to PCC it would take me a hour and 30
minutes or sometimes 2 hours when the train would be running slowly to go PCC or come back home.
Still with all the challenges my mindset was still the same, I wanted to be a radiologic technologist. I
chose PCC because I had no other choice; I wanted to succeed and become something in life.
In order to become a radiologic technologist in PCC you must first pass all your general education
courses, have medical hospital volunteering hours, know your medical terminology, chemistry and be
fully dedicated. You should try to pass all your courses with A's or B's due to competition in enrollment.
After acceptance into PCC's "Rad Tech" (Radiologic Technologist) program you must first make sure it is
an accredited program approved by the JRCERT (Joint Review Committee on Education in Radiologic
Technology) then pass all classes, you must remember all your medical terminology, procedures etc.
After passing all your classes you must then pass the ARRT exam and become certified. ARRT is the
American Registry of Radiologic Technologist that enforces guidelines and rules. You must also take a
fluoroscopy permit exam and pass to have the right to do fluoroscopy procedures when needed.
Radiologic technologist can also take MRI's CT scans and if wanting to make more money go back to
school to also do ultrasonography. "The average first year salary is $60,000 but keeps on
rising with experience and education" ("Summary"). In for example a "radiologic technologist that takes
x-rays, MRI's and sonography can make up to $100,000 + a year" (Who Are Radiologic Technologists?").
It all depends on how long you want to be in school and how much money you want to make.
Radiologic technologist that continue their education tend be more successful. Reasons range from
many, radiologic technologist that continue their education tend to keep their education up to date and
manage to always comply with ARRT guidelines. Radiologic technologist that specialize in more than
one specification tend to make more money than Radiologist Technicians that only specialize in taking x-
rays. "Radiologic technologist tend to have more job opportunities since they have many different ranges
of experience, from x-rays and MRIs, to even fluoroscopy" ("ARRT - The American Registry of
Radiologic Technologists"). Hospitals and private health clinics or facilities need radiologic technologist
that can specialize in these many different radiology imaging techniques.
Radiologic technologist help people feel better when they are in pain, most are on emergency call in
duty and others work long hours. Radiologist technologist give back to the community because they are
there to serve them. Some radiologist technologist do more than just take x-rays they may sometimes
be obligated to manage the radiology office if a supervisor is absent. Some may inject certain tints or
colors in a certain area around a bone for a better x-ray picture, answer question that concern patients and
even tend to help out in the emergency room as an extra hand if necessary. Radiologic technologist may
face a couple of problems after being certified in for example, some private radiology centers like to hire
radiologic technologists that have more then 3-5 years of experience in the field.
Other hospitals on the other hand do give opportunity to new aspiring radiologic technologists because
some schools are connected with them. Some schools even have connections with clinics and other
facilities in need of a radiologic technologist. Most public health care facilities tend to only care for
radiologic technologist that are certified by the ARRT and can do fluoroscopes. But just like any
responsibility it is up to you to find yourself a career opening and apply, most colleges though will help
you find a job as well. Just remember health care is always in need, people always break bones and
someone has to do the job of taking the x-ray.
During these encounters one must always remember to keep a growth mindset and handle these
obstacles as a creator not a victim. To take these obstacles as a challenge, triumph over it and be confident
enough to want to take another just because you know it won't phase you. To always keep in mind that
you deserve to be where you are, always have your mind learning and just keep it going. This is a
technique or mindset that I had in high school and now in college. I remember a day in high school in
which I was taking a math course and wasn't really understanding the material. Due to my growth mindset
I decided to notice my mistakes, analyze them and then overcome them.
Portraying yourself into thinking you are a victim of a obstacle or problem will not work and will cause
you to not be fit for your career or anything else you want to do in life. A victim will only take the
negative into consideration and you won't be able to come up with solutions to your problems in the
future. In order to be ready for the future you must have a state of mind in which you are always learning
and not giving up. Instead you learn from your mistakes and improve on them, any problems directed to
you can be solved because you are the creator to that solution. Only victims don't try to overcome their
problems and only live with them.
As a creator with a growth mindset along with past educational experiences and knowledge of my
career path, I know that only my actions which can be considered as my effort in school, grades and more
will all lead up to my certification on passing the ARRT exam or not. The reaction I must have within me
should be related to never giving up on my dream of being a radiologic technologist and to only have
positive reactions to the negative obstacles I may encounter. Only to have my mindset into the state of
growth, which in part can make me learn from my mistakes and fix them. Scholarly behaviors such as
studying and only focusing on my career's education is what must be done in order to be the creator of my
success. My complete mindset must stay in growth, and I should never play the victim due to any
obstacles or problems I may encounter during or towards my career. To instead look for a solution to the
problem and overcome it.





















Sources
"ARRT - The American Registry of Radiologic Technologists." ARRT - The American Registry of
Radiologic Technologists. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Apr. 2014.
"Summary." U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, n.d. Web. 23 Apr. 2014.
"Who Are Radiologic Technologists?" ASRT. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.
Rogers, Carla. "THE LANGUAGE OF RESPONSIBILITY." N.p., 26 Apr. 2013. Web. 23 Apr. 2014.
Dweck, Carol S. "The Perils and Promises of Praise." N.p., Oct. 2007. Web. 23 Apr. 2014.