Because of a demand in the field, most of the 13 class members had job offers, including three who will work at the prestigious Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.
"There are 2,500 people in work in the labs at the Mayo Clinic," said Linda Goossen, associate professor and director of the CLS program. She said clinic recruiters visited Grand Rapids recently and hired three GVSU students -- Joshua Kling, Laura Eckelkamp and Mara Tornga -- on the spot.
Kling said he is excited to begin working in a field that puts him "on the front line of diagnosis."
"I have a strong passion for the biological sciences, and particularly how the body responds to adverse conditions," he said. "In most situations, I'll be conveying the diagnosis to the doctor after the results have been obtained in the laboratory." Kling completed his clinical work at Spectrum Health and at St. Mary's Health Care.
Goossen said students work in clinical settings for 18 weeks, which is why CLS students graduate later than most Grand Valley students.
Recent graduates of the Clinical Laboratory Science program (left to right) Mara Tornga, Joshua Kling and Laura Eckelkamp will work at the Mayo Clinic / Photo courtesy of Linda Goossen
