{"id":1945,"date":"2017-08-14T08:00:06","date_gmt":"2017-08-14T08:00:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/?p=1945"},"modified":"2017-08-11T21:46:38","modified_gmt":"2017-08-11T21:46:38","slug":"tstc-surgical-tech-students-celebrate-success","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/?p=1945","title":{"rendered":"TSTC Surgical Tech Students Celebrate Success"},"content":{"rendered":"

(HARLINGEN) – It was already a big night for Itati Fernandez who was celebrating the completion of the Texas State Technical College Surgical Technology program with her 12 other peers. But it became a night to remember when she was unexpectedly named program valedictorian because of her 3.6 GPA.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t even know valedictorian was a thing in college,\u201d Fernandez said with a laugh. \u201cI was so surprised. It was a very emotional time for me. I couldn\u2019t be happier.\u201d<\/p>\n

With tear-filled eyes Fernandez stood in front of a full auditorium to thank her instructors, classmates and family for the support she got throughout the program.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere were many occasions where I wanted to give up. It was so hard,\u201d she said. \u201cBut everyone kept me motivated and didn\u2019t let me give up. This is the first of many more accomplishments.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 22-year-old has a job offer at Rio Grande Regional Hospital in McAllen as a surgical technologist pending a passing score on her certifying exam.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

She will also be continuing her education at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley to pursue a bachelor\u2019s degree in biology with the goal of being accepted into the university\u2019s physician assistant master\u2019s program.<\/p>\n

Nancy Garcia, Fernandez\u2019s mother, said she couldn\u2019t be prouder of her daughter\u2019s accomplishments and drive to succeed.<\/p>\n

\u201cI call this her short-term goal and I knew she could reach it,\u201d said Garcia. \u201cI\u2019m so happy right now and so proud of my daughter. I know this is only the beginning.\u201d<\/p>\n

TSTC Surgical Technology lead instructor Anna San Pedro called this an impressive achievement considering the intensity and difficulty of the surgical technology curriculum.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe work ethic and discipline that she displayed while in the program was the winning formula to her success,\u201d said San Pedro. \u201cThe faculty and I are confident that she will continue to find success in all future endeavors and will be an asset to the industry of Surgical Technology.\u201d<\/p>\n

The pinning ceremony also included the presentation of pins and Surgical Technology graduates taking the Surgical Technologist Pledge, the presentation of the Preceptor of the Year award to Gina Tijerina from McAllen Medical Center and a message from guest speaker, pharmacist and TSTC alumnus Michael Muniz.<\/p>\n

Muniz graduated from Surgical Technology in 2004 also top of his class and is a now a pharmacist at family-owned Muniz Rio Grande Pharmacy in Harlingen. He said TSTC will always have a special place in heart.<\/p>\n

\u201cTSTC gave me the foundation I needed and it\u2019s great to be back as a speaker and I hope I can become a mentor for these students and future generations of surgical technologists,\u201d said Muniz. \u201cAnd my hope for these students is that they continue learning and stay goal-oriented.\u201d<\/p>\n

Robert Sanchez, TSTC Surgical Technology program director, left his graduates with one final note at the end of the event.<\/p>\n

\u201cYour future will be determined by the opportunities that you encounter and how you are able to embrace them,\u201d he said. \u201cYou have your career in your hands, how you work with it and pursue your dream is up to you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCongratulations,\u201d he added. \u201cBe the best technologist you can be and always be a patient advocate.\u201d<\/p>\n

For more information on Surgical Technology or to register visit tstc.edu. The last to day to register is August 21.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(HARLINGEN) – It was already a big night for Itati Fernandez who was celebrating the completion of the Texas State Technical College Surgical Technology program with her 12 other peers. But it became a night to remember when she was unexpectedly named program valedictorian because of her 3.6 GPA. \u201cI didn\u2019t even know valedictorian was […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1945","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-harlingen"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1945","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1945"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1945\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1947,"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1945\/revisions\/1947"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1945"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1945"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1945"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}