An Interview with BC Alum Katie Chang
Katie is a Supervisor of General & Cardiac Ultrasound, Nuclear Medicine & PET CT at Overlake Medical Center & Clinics. She has two degrees from Bellevue College: she graduated in the Class of 2011 with an associate degree in Diagnostic Ultrasound and in the Class of 2016 with a BAS in Radiation & Imaging Management.
Prior to enrolling in courses at BC, what was your educational background and/or profession?
I spent a year after high school taking prerequisite courses at Green River Community College until I was accepted into Bellevue’s Ultrasound program. I worked as a front desk receptionist in Medical Imaging at Enumclaw Regional Hospital during my senior year until I started at BC. I think my last job before that was as a barista in a coffee stand in a church parking lot.
What prompted you to come to BC and choose the coursework you pursued?
I really didn’t know what I wanted to do after high school. My dad was a medical equipment salesman and had developed good relationships with a lot of radiologists in his territory, back when more doctors were running private practices. My dad told me about a young woman who his friend had just hired. She ws a BC graduate, and was particularly impressed with how much she was making right out of the two-year program. It was 2008 and many of my peers were having a hard time finding work, in spite of their four-year degrees. A lot of people were moving back home after college. It seemed like an interesting job and a good way for me to support myself.
I knew that Bellevue College was where I wanted to get my degree in Ultrasound. I was fortunate enough to have found job-shadowing opportunities around my hometown, and from what I could gather, BC was the hardest program to get into. A combination of the low tuition, reputation for high-quality coursework, and the likelihood of employment upon graduation were all very appealing. I was repeatedly told that “nobody gets in their first try.” I liked the idea of a challenge and I didn’t apply anywhere else. I was extremely lucky that putting all my eggs in one basket worked out. (I don’t know that I would recommend that strategy to others!)
How has your experience at BC enriched your personal/professional life?
The AA degree landed me a full-time job at Overlake as soon as I graduated. That full-time job allowed me to move into my first apartment a month after graduation, on Beacon Hill, an area I will always love. I remember bringing my dad with me to co-sign the lease, and how proud I felt when I ended up not needing his co-signature because of my wage. My BC experience helped me find personal enrichment because I was able to support myself and basically do whatever I wanted with my free time. With no kids and no student loans to pay off, I lived pretty well for someone my age, fresh out of college.
I went back to BC a couple years later for my bachelor’s degree, because Overlake has this really great employee tuition reimbursement program, and I just thought, “Why not?” During my last quarter of the RAIM (Radiation and Imaging Management) program, my supervisor at Overlake made the decision to retire, and pulled me aside to see if I would be interested in taking her place. She used to joke a lot that I would have her job one day, but as it turned out she was never really joking. I was shocked that they would even think of me, being the newest member of the team with only four-and-a-half years under my belt.
My director eventually had the same talk with me and encouraged me to go for it. Because of the additional education I pursued at BC, they decided to take a chance on me, even with zero leadership experience. Three years later, I supervise Ultrasound, Nuclear Medicine, PET CT, and as of last year, Echocardiography and Nuclear Cardiology. I think I have about 36 people reporting to me, which I would have never thought possible eight years ago when I started this journey. Because of this I have found both professional and personal enrichment, because I get to work on a team of really smart people who treat each other like family, and on top of it, I get to have a great life outside of here. I took a three-week trip to Europe this August, and usually do at least one big trip a year. Life is good.
When not in the classroom, was there a spot on campus you enjoyed going to? If so, what made that space enjoyable?
I often hung out in the building where the cafeteria was, near the coffee stand that had a piano on the first floor. I remember finding the low hum of people milling about to be a calming backdrop to my studying. I wonder if they still serve those mini turkey sandwiches with the remoulade and the toothpick in them – those, and the macaroni salad in the cafeteria were my primary sustenance during that first year at BC.
Do you have a most memorable professor or course?
Dr. Peck, the pathology professor, was probably most memorable. She was the head of pathology at Harborview at the time, and always had the best, craziest real-life examples for her lectures. She was a very serious person and her tests were the hardest out of any class because there was so much information to memorize.
I also remember Renee, our clinical coordinator, who was one of the nicest people I will probably ever meet, whose love of ultrasound really showed through her lectures. She taught us Echo and Vascular and was just the most kind and thoughtful person – we were really lucky to have her.
I truly appreciated how passionate all of the instructors were, as most of them were coming from their primary day jobs, and the fact that they were willing to dedicate additional time to teaching was really inspiring.
How do you use your experiences at BC to make an impact in our community today?
I try to participate in as many of Overlake’s community events as I can, and without Bellevue College leading me to Overlake, it would have been difficult to find opportunities like these on my own. I participate every year in the Women’s Health and Vitality Fairs, where we have an opportunity to engage with our community face-to-face. We recently hosted an after-school tour of the Medical Imaging department for local high school students. That experience was really cool because I think that type of exposure is really important for young people. The transition from student to functioning adult is so abrupt; it’s coming for you whether you’re ready or not. I remember being that age, how impressionable I was, how I would pick and choose different traits to mimic in the people I admired.
When I think back to those individuals who inspired me, the ones who made me think “I want to be like that person,” I’m certain that to this day they have no idea the effect they had on me. In terms of having an impact on my community, it’s really important for me to always try to be that person to others – to lead by example and to let my actions speak for themselves.
What kind of impacts would you like donors to know they have when they support opportunities at BC?
I think the trade programs like Ultrasound and X-ray that Bellevue offers are incredibly important tools for people of all ages, from all backgrounds, wanting to enter (or re-enter) the workforce with a marketable skill that will have a positive impact on the lives of others.
Most of these programs are only two-year commitments, and are designed to make it possible for individuals who have kids at home or are already working full-time jobs. The programs BC offers try to accommodate people with already-busy lives so they can get the education they need to earn a better living and create the life they want.
What value do you see BC, as a whole organization, has to our region?
It is incredibly important that programs like the ones BC offers exist, because not everyone can afford $30k per year in tuition (or whatever it is now at most four-year schools). Even then, work in any particular field of study is not guaranteed. I don’t know anyone I graduated BC with who didn’t get a job right away. BC as an organization helps fill the workforce in this region with capable individuals with marketable skills.
How do you give back to your community?
I participate in community events that Overlake holds (or is affiliated with) as much as I can, like Health Fairs and Career Days. One of my good friends is the Director of Nursing at Green River Community College; I recently gave a talk on ultrasound and other imaging careers in one of her CNA classes. I think it’s important for people to know the types of healthcare careers that are out there, what is available to them, and how achievable it is.
Why is it important to give back to your community?
As an individual, I’m not really able to affect much change on a grand scale, but there is a lot I can do to help those around me, to help improve my immediate environment. Giving back to my community in the small ways that I know how to do makes me feel better about my position in the world. That could mean donating time or money to an important cause, helping a random person on the street, or helping lost patients and visitors navigate the hospital.
The Pacific Northwest will always be my home, a place that nurtured me and helped make me the person I am. Taking ownership in anything I’m part of makes me feel more connected to the work I’m doing and the community I serve. I like to think that if everyone made a conscious effort to make their own tiny contributions each day, collectively, the impact could be enormous.
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Last Updated October 12, 2023