Sul Ross women's cross country and track runner Jessica Lubbers developed an interest in X-ray technology after sustaining a high school sports injury and becoming a participant in the procedures.
               
As a Sul Ross State University student, her internship at Big Bend Regional Medical Center is giving her a head start on her future career.
               
A total of 30 academic internships, mostly paid positions, have been coordinated through Sul Ross' Experiential Learning program, funded through a Title V grant, since February. Presently, nine are piloted, with 12 scheduled for Spring and Summer 2017.

Internships enhance classroom learning through career-related work experience in corporate and private businesses, government agencies and non-profit organizations, according to Dr. Jenny Penland, Sul Ross director of Experiential Learning.
               
"Based on nationwide survey results, nearly three-fourths of employers believe that college graduates' preparation for careers would improve if the students were required to complete a significant applied learning experience or project," said Penland. She added that 94 percent of national employers seek students with internship experiences over any other "experiential learning" opportunity, according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers, 2016.
               
"Based on the feedback we have received from area employers and participating students, the experiences have been mutually beneficial," she said.
               
Lubbers, El Paso, will graduate in May 2017 with a Bachelor's degree in Biology. She plans to enroll in a two-year X-ray program – a combination of classroom study and clinical rounds -- in her hometown to gain both X-ray and CT (computerized tomography) certification. She began working three hours per day, three days per week at BBRMC at the end of September, first gaining experience in medical billing and coding, and more recently, observing procedures in radiology.
               
"This (internship) is definitely teaching me a lot," said Lubbers, who hopes to continue her internship during Spring semester. "I have been observing, answering phones, working on people skills and learning medical terminology."
               
"The internship has prepared me for the reality of the hospital setting. Before this, I had never imagined that you might deal with blood, vomit or other unpleasant things in X-ray, but I have learned that I can handle it."
               
Lubbers' interest in X-ray technology stemmed from injuries she sustained competing in high school sports.
               
"I tore my ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) and my lateral and medial meniscus, and when I was going through rehab, I saw a lot of the X-ray labs and really got interested," she said.
               
At Sul Ross last summer, Lubbers mentioned her interest to Dr. Kathy Stein, director of the Academic Center for Excellence, who in turn put Lubbers in contact with Penland, leading to the eventual internship.
               
Lubbers highly recommends the internship program. "If you have an opportunity, do it. Never in a million years would I have imagined that an internship for X-ray technology was possible. The experience has improved my people skills with patients and given me some advanced knowledge for my career."