After Starting a Month Behind, Maijoy Wooten Finished at the Top as an Outstanding Graduate
When Maijoy Wooten started the Surgical Technology program at Owens Community College, she was a month behind the rest of her cohort. With a dogged pursuit of her goals, though, nothing could stand in her way.
Thanks to her drive and the unwavering support of her family, Wooten saw her way through and will graduate in May with her Associate of Applied Science in Surgical Technology. She was also named an outstanding graduate in the program.
Despite being a first-time college student, Wooten had to stack six classes onto her schedule while managing clinicals and learning high-stakes lab skills just to catch up with the rest of her cohort.
And as if that wasn’t enough, she lost her overnight full-time job, forcing her to pivot into home healthcare and rely on side hustles, like DoorDash and Instacart, to supplement her income.
“Pushing through those financial hurdles to reach this finish line is a hard-won victory,” she said.
Born in Seattle and a native of the Coachella Valley in California, Wooten moved to Toledo in 2021 in search of a better life. She spent three years working in the automotive industry before finding the Sterile Processing certification at Owens, which was her educational plan until her instructors stepped in.
“I had no initial intention of pursuing a degree in Surgical Technology until my instructors recognized my potential and personally offered me a seat in the program,” she said.
“This institution equipped me with a wealth of knowledge and resources I lacked when I first enrolled. My department chair, April Kesler, and clinical instructor, Natalie Losh, pushed me every step of the way to become the best possible healthcare professional. They offered me this opportunity at a time when I didn’t believe I had the capacity to pull it off. They saw more in me than I saw in myself, and I owe so much to the seed they planted.”
Six months before graduation, Wooten received job offers to two of the top-ranked hospitals in Ohio, accepting an offer of surgical technologist at Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center in Columbus. She also plans on pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Nursing to eventually become a Registered Nursing First Assistant.
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Published May 2026