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TSTC alumnus motivated to help others in medical field

(WACO, Texas) – Motivation is not a problem for Andrew Grisham.

“With life in general, every day is a new day,” he said. “Anything can happen on any given day. Just seeing what happens is a motivator for me.”

Grisham, who grew up in Robinson and is a graduate of Texas State Technical College’s Biomedical Equipment Technology program in Waco, is a medical imaging engineer at Tri-Imaging Solutions in Fort Collins, Colorado. He works from home and covers four hospitals, doing preventive maintenance and emergency repairs on Toshiba Aquilion CT scanners. He recently celebrated his first anniversary with the company.

When he gets service calls, he goes to the hospital with the problem and talks to staff. He works with the equipment until the problem can be figured out. Grisham is able to call the company to work through problems, if needed. Parts can also be ordered and delivered in less than 24 hours. His work sometimes requires him to go to Phoenix, Arizona, to do equipment repairs.

“You do travel, depending on who you work for,” Grisham said. “It is not the same work every day. You always have something new coming up. You also get to work in air conditioning in a hospital setting. You get great pay and benefits.”

Grisham enjoys his job because he sees how relieved hospital staff are when machines are up and running.

“No matter what, you always have an opportunity to work,” he said.

Grisham also likes his downtime from work, which he spends eating at new restaurants and hiking.

“I live at the edge of the Rockies, which is beautiful,” he said. “I get to experience a different culture in Colorado.”

Grisham is a graduate of Robinson High School. Between graduation and when he enrolled at TSTC, he worked various jobs.

“I did bartending for nine years,” Grisham said. “I was with an agency for acting and modeling. The year before I went to TSTC, I was living in Indiana doing construction there. That is where I found I liked working with my hands.”

A friend recommended that Grisham take a look at TSTC. When he reviewed the list of programs, he decided what to study.

“I wanted to help people, but I can’t do blood,” he said. “Nursing is out of the question. I figured if I could help maintain machines, it can help a doctor or nurse save a life.”

Grisham graduated in summer 2020 from TSTC with an Associate of Applied Science degree in Biomedical Equipment Technology and an Associate of Applied Science degree in Medical Imaging Systems Technology Specialization.

“Andrew was an excellent student with high energy who took his training seriously in both lecture and lab,” said Victor Fowler, an instructor in TSTC’s Medical Imaging Systems Technology Specialization program. “He quickly gained confidence working on medical imaging systems and secured a job before his last semester was over.”

Registration continues for the summer and fall semesters at TSTC. For more information, go to tstc.edu. 

Written by Daniel Perry on May 02, 2021
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