Alumni Stories

Ratimo Aduke: Teaching in Kenya

Ratimo Aduke is a graduate from the Radiographic Science Program at Idaho State University in the class of 2008. After graduation he returned to his native country, and now lives in Kisumu, Kenya. While at ISU he performed his clinical rotations at Bingham Memorial Hospital, and the Blackfoot Medical Center in Blackfoot, Idaho. Currently (2019) he teaches Radiographic Science in the Kenya Medical Training College. It is a public medical training institution that mostly trains allied health professionals. The college is found in several locations with campuses all over Kenya.

The following text is Ratimo's own words:

"ISU prepared me uniquely for this position. I feel privileged that I was able to go to college there. The holistic education at ISU prepared me for different aspects of the job here. For example I am able to draw on my knowledge of public speaking and writing in teaching my classes. My involvement in student leadership in college has also enabled me to able to share ideas and be comfortable interacting and collaborating with the college leadership. The programs here are quite under resourced. We generally have no textbooks for lecturers so most of our material has to come from the internet. We do not have any anatomy labs so teaching A&P is a challenge, no skeletal models or other basic requirements of a medical training program. The public training hospital only has one functioning x-ray unit which breaks down from time to time. The CT machine has not worked in over a year. We are still a long way in terms of resources and training here. I feel quite lucky that I had the opportunity to go to ISU and train at the well equipped area hospitals. I realize that a lot of things I took for granted in training are not available here. Recently I reached out to my former lecturers at the ISU Radiographic Science department. Dan, Wendy and the office staff have been very generous. Right now I am expecting some textbooks that they have donated and are in the mail. I hope we can continue this collaboration. In hindsight I am glad I came back. Most medical professionals from this country who go to the west never come back so it's somewhat unusual. However, to be in this position where I can impart the skills and knowledge I acquired in Pocatello, in spite of the challenges, does give me a huge sense of humility."

Jake Christensen

Jake Christensen graduated from the Radiographic Science program in 2009.

Jake said this about the Radiographic Science Program at Idaho State University:

"Becoming a physician has always been a goal of mine, but the field is extremely competitive. I wanted to choose an undergraduate degree that would give me life and career experience and thus set me apart from my peers applying for medical school. I feel ISU’s Radiographic Science program did that for me. It was a valuable launching point that propelled me toward my end goal. I found my education at ISU, especially in anatomy, to be extremely helpful in medical school. I am able to look at images and describe pathology comfortably having already seen thousands of radiographic images during my training at ISU. The facility where I did my clinical rotations ended up becoming a place I enjoyed being. I ended up working at my clinical site, and made some life-long friends. Now I am a few short months away from graduating medical school and obtaining my ultimate goal of becoming a physician. I can’t forget my roots though, and I owe much of my medical knowledge to ISU and the great faculty there. I still maintain my ARRT certification and plan to do so throughout my career."

Briana Lippiello

Briana Lippiello is a graduate from the class of 2002. She visited the class of seniors and talked to them about Radiation Therapy. Brianna is employed at St. Luke's Mountain States Tumor Institute in Boise, Idaho.

During her visit she shared these thoughts:

"Obtaining my education at ISU has been invaluable to my career. At ISU the student obtains an extremely solid educational base that can be used to further a career in many directions. I chose Radiation Therapy and was pleasantly excited when I found out how prepared I was. I am beginning my 11th year as a radiation therapist and over the years have met students that were trained at other programs and universities around the State of Idaho. The students from ISU are extremely prepared and qualified. The fact that ISU keeps students at the same clinical site is consistently listed as an advantage when speaking with other medical imaging professionals. I can't thank the amazing professors and staff in the ISU Radiographic Science program enough for working so hard to prepare myself and many other students for successful careers in the profession. Thank you!"