Odessa College student Damaris Carrillo took home a laptop and a free year of Wi-Fi Thursday, thanks to CBS 7 and the college.
Vice President for Student Services Kim McKay said this is the first year the Spring Starter Kit has been offered.
“It was especially important for us to make sure that students who wanted to register had an opportunity to have really solid tools to access our learning management system and it was a fun way to get students to register early make sure they had a schedule and made payment arrangements and were prepared for the first class day,” McKay said.
She added that she thinks it helped boost registration numbers.
“Since we announced the actual giveaway in early December we had 1,000 students register before the deadline, so I think it may have played a small part in incentivizing students to register early,” McKay said. “Who wouldn’t want a free laptop and free Wi-Fi for a year?”
CBS 7 sponsored the laptop, which was presented by anchor Matthew Alvarez.
A Permian High School graduate, Carrillo is aiming to get into the radiologic technology program at OC. She’s just about done with her prerequisites.
“Honestly, I’m so excited,” Carrillo said. “I’ve never won anything before …”
She added that it would help her finish her schooling. She is taking online and in-person classes and said the laptop will be a big help for her online courses.
While she doesn’t have any family in the medical field, Carrillo said the radiologic technology program sounded interesting to her.
She noted that it is easier to keep her education going rather than taking a break “because you forget things if you stop going to school, so it’s better to get it done.”
McKay said the radiologic technology program lasts a little over 60 hours so students can complete it in a two-year timeframe. She added that it is a selective admissions process so students have to meet some prerequisites, which is what Carrillo is doing right now.
Once they meet the prerequisites and are selected into the program they are learning in a state of the art facility that was remodeled one to two years ago.
“So they have the latest and greatest radiologic tech equipment to learn and grow on,” McKay said.
Carrillo acknowledged that the radiologic technology program is rigorous, but she’s confident she’ll get through it.
“I feel great. I’m looking forward to it. I know I can do this and be a radiologist,” she said.
McKay said OC is pleased to be able to provide these tools for students.
“We are fortunate to have an administration that supports students where they are and is committed to being innovative and making sure that students understand that there are learning options available for them at any time, whether it’s online or on campus so we’re excited about this opportunity and appreciate that the community and the students get behind us,” McKay said.
