“When I first attended Baltimore City Community College back in 1993, my focus was computer science. After being put out of high school and graduating from Woodstock Job Corp I had to pick a trade, and computers intrigued me at the time. Now I’m the Respiratory Care Program Director at the College, have been for four years. I graduated from the program in 2006, but there was a narrative that the students were incompetent and didn’t have the basic skills to be successful in the profession. So, when I first started as the director, there was an uneasiness about the direction of the program. Part of the solution was to obtain more clinical sites to give students exposure to the profession and improved accountability measures. It helps them understand the importance of putting their best foot forward. There was a student who pulled me aside and told me his story. He was an older gentleman who battled drug addiction, being shot twice and some minor arrest. When he pulled me aside, he had tears in his eyes and said that the respiratory care program was going to save his life because it was all he had left. He said that seeing me there made him even more certain that he made the right career move. That student graduated in 2019 and is now completing his required licensure exams. I always make sure to tell my story, where I came from and all the obstacles I had to overcome to become a respiratory therapist. I speak to high school students specifically in the inner city to help them understand that, yes, black men do wear scrubs too. I can see the determination of my students. Students from so many backgrounds. Seeing them overcome different barriers makes me appreciate what I’ve accomplished here, and how much more I can achieve. Being able to give students hope, it’s amazing to see their lives changed. Every year after graduation, students are so appreciative of the tough love and come to understand that hard work and limited excuses breeds success. For anyone interested in becoming a respiratory care therapist, come learn how to give the breath of life at BCCC!”
