Ciara Littlefield
The opportunities students receive at Owens Community College go beyond what is offered in the classroom. This year, Ciara Littlefield, a diagnostic medical sonography student, was accepted into the Society of Diagnostic Medical Sonography (SDMS) Emerging Leaders Program. The program gives participants leadership opportunities designed to engage in meaningful dialogue and projects related to their future careers and leadership volunteerism.
Littlefield, a Columbus native, attended another college to pursue education before deciding she wanted to be in the medical field. In 2022, she figured out exactly what her future would hold. “Growing up, my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer and had multiple ultrasounds,” she said. After undergoing ultrasounds herself, Littlefield looked into different medical programs and came across imaging; ultrasound immediately caught her attention. “I wanted to help others just like the sonographers did for me and my family.”
The reputation of the diagnostic medical sonography program drew Littlefield to Owens. She said she heard great things about it and when she arrived, everything she had heard about the program was true. “The program has been a huge reason for my great experience at Owens. It was and still is the hardest thing I have endured,” Littlefield said. The instructors in the program helped Littlefield push through the program but presented her with great learning opportunities. “I feel so unbelievably lucky to be at a school where I have such great opportunities like SDMS.”
Littlefield is the second Owens student accepted to the national program, following Halle Delos Reyes, a May 2023 graduate who was accepted into the 2023 cohort. “Students learn from the beginning just how important it is to be in their professional societies,” said Cathy Ford, Dean of the School of Nursing and Health Professions. As students continue through their education, faculty will talk about leadership opportunities within those organizations. “This goes to show from the very beginning, students are learning their healthcare discipline and learning to be a professional within that division.”
Future students in the School of Nursing and Health Professions will learn in a renovated and expanded $31 million healthcare education center that will be fully operational by 2025. In addition to learning their discipline, students will be able to use an interprofessional education and simulator center. “Students will learn in a collaborative environment from each other. This has been shown to improve patient care through increased communication and knowledge of patient needs,” said Ford.
As a member of the SDMS Emerging Leaders Program, Littlefield hopes to grow deeper in her passion for sonography. “I feel as if this program will only enhance my enthusiasm for ultrasound as well as learning how to become the best tech, coworker and person I can be,” she said.
Littlefield will graduate in May 2024.
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Published February 2024