We focus a lot on career goals at South College. We pride ourselves on providing educational opportunities in fields with job opportunities. We are constantly on the lookout for new career growth areas to help our students succeed. But there are students that come to South College with even higher goals.
Joyce Smith is such a student. At 75 years young, Joyce will receive her Medical Assisting degree this June. She doesn’t have aspirations of going to work in a physician’s office, though Dr. Steven Hall at Foothills Family Practice, where she is finishing up her practicum, says he would hire her in a minute.
Joyce has embarked on this new field of study in an effort to be more valuable to her team on medical mission trips. Her inspiration is Psalm 92, which says that you will flourish and still bear fruit in old age.
“I went on a mission trip to Africa to help build a church 15 years ago. We took one doctor and one nurse,” Joyce explained. “Women came to the village from miles away, carrying their children, just to see our one doctor. There is such a need for medical care.”
Since then, in addition to her counseling work at her church and local schools, she has volunteered with Dr. Tom Keun Kim at the Free Medical Clinic. She felt, even in that role, she could be more help if she had actual medical training.
It had been nearly 40 years since Joyce completed her master’s degree at the University of Memphis, and she was quite nervous about being a student again. But her determination, encouragement from her husband of 55 years, John, and the prayerful support of family and friends helped guide her through. She credits the caring, student-focused faculty and staff at South College (and a nice young man who helped her with computer questions in class) for her success.
She will soon graduate with a degree and valuable training in Medical Assisting and already has plans to accompany One Vision International on a medical mission trip to Haiti. She also hopes to resume her volunteer work with Dr. Kim at the Free Medical Clinic. I know she is leaving South College well-prepared for these tasks.
She is also leaving many of us at South College truly inspired. I wish Joyce much success and thank her for reminding all of us that the true value of education is how we use it to help others.
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