Santana Cater, a senior at Georgia Southern University from Douglas, is one of five medical laboratory science students nationwide awarded a $2,000 scholarship by the American Proficiency Institute (API). “With the COVID-19 pandemic, the vital importance of medical laboratory scientists has risen in consciousness,” explained Daniel C. Edson, President of API. “We are proud to continue for the 13th year scholarship support for the clinical laboratory profession.”
“I recently lost a very special person in my life,” said Ms. Cater. “Working in the lab, I plan to strive every day to provide the most accurate results to physicians because I know the gravity they carry.”
Carol Jordan, Med, MLS(ASCP)SM, Clinical Coordinator at Georgia Southern University, noted Ms. Cater’s previous healthcare experience, “will help her bridge the lab with other healthcare entities. She is excited to share with nurses, pharmacists, and doctors exactly what we do and how important our profession is to the healthcare team. This is a refreshing attitude.”
“All of these scholarship winners have persevered to pursue their medical laboratory education,” noted Mr. Edson. “One returned to college after practicing as a nurse, a few have experienced deep, personal losses that influenced their future career choice, and most are working and saving to finance their own education. This is a determined group of students that will serve well the laboratory profession.”
The American Proficiency Institute is one of the largest proficiency testing providers in the world, serving over 20,000 laboratories. API offers innovative solutions and technical excellence for the proficiency testing needs of hospital and reference laboratories, physician offices, clinics, and point-of-care testing sites.