Hend Halabi
We sat down with Hend Halabi - a student in UC's Advanced Medical Imaging Technology Program. She shared her experience and gave some advice for AMIT's future bearcats.
Hend Halabi, 4th year AMIT student.
You are originally from Syria. How, if at all, has this influenced your educational journey?
I moved here in 2012 from Damascus Syria because of the civil war. It definitely wasn’t the easiest transition, luckily, I went to a bilingual school which really helped with the language change, but I still had to take reading and speech classes to get to where I am today. The culture was very different but it helped me grow. I still had family and friends in Syria including my father which is the hardest part. It’s been just about 12 years since I moved here and definitely consider Cincinnati a home now but Syria will be my forever home.
What do you enjoy doing outside of class, schoolwork, and observations?
I enjoy cooking and hanging out with my friends and family whenever I can! Additionally, for the past two years, I've served as the AMIT representative for the CAHS tribunal and have been a part of the AMIT student organization for 2 years as well!
What types of hands-on experiences have you been able to gain in the program?
The AMIT Program requires 24 clinical hours every week. It was a great experience to have in my undergraduate years. I have learned how to communicate with patients and explore what the work setting can be like, it will be a very easy transition to go from this program to the actual work setting.
How have these hands-on learning opportunities shaped your career goals or view of the profession?
UC has a lot of clinical and hands-on opportunities which has definitely shaped my career goals. If I would have chosen any other university, I don't think I would have been able to explore various components of Nuclear Medicine Technology and Magnetic Resonance Imaging while in college that have led me to the career path that I'm on right now. I am thankful for the opportunity to explore my interests before I entered the workforce and am grateful to UC for giving me a headstart in my career.
UC's AMIT program is unique in that it equips you with two credentials. How has this impacted your goals for the future?
The dual credential component of UC's AMIT program has opened many doors for me. For the time being, my career goal is to work as a Nuclear Medicine Technologist. Going to clinical and learning about nuclear medicine has really gotten me interested in the field and I look forward to learning more about the cameras and radiopharmaceuticals used. However, It’s good to have a backup ( Medical Resonance Imaging) in case hospitals in the area are not in need of one modality, or my interests shift.
What impact do you hope to have in the lives of your patients or in your field?
I would love to make my patients feel as comfortable as they can with getting scans done and help the doctors get the best images possible to help them, outpatients.
Anything else you would say to a prospective student?
This field is a very exhausting field but is the best choice I've ever made. I have grown so much from it and will miss it dearly. Continue to push through the tough moments. It's worth it.