Just over a third of Americans have bachelor’s degrees, and this year, Ozarks Technical Community College will directly contribute to the number of people with four-year degrees.
At OTC’s 2024 commencement, the college will make history by awarding three Bachelor of Science in Respiratory Therapy degrees to Daniel Bowles, Samantha Gonzalez and Jade Humphreys. This will mark the first time a Missouri community college has awarded bachelor’s degrees.
In 2021, the Coordinating Board for Higher Education approved OTC and St. Louis Community College to offer bachelor’s degrees in respiratory therapy. OTC’s bachelor’s in respiratory therapy debuted in January of 2023 with students in Springfield and at the college’s new respiratory therapy laboratory at OTC Waynesville.
“I am proud of these three students and OTC,” said Dr. Hal Higdon, OTC chancellor. “Years of planning and work went into this first-of-its-kind program. It will be gratifying to shake the students’ hands and award them the college’s first-ever bachelor’s degrees.”
All three of the bachelor’s degree recipients come from very different backgrounds.
Samantha Gonzalez already has an associate degree in Early Childhood Education from OTC. She was a substitute teacher, but her awareness of the respiratory therapy profession increased a few years ago when the world shut down due to the global pandemic.
“The Covid Pandemic brought a lot of light onto respiratory therapists, and I wanted to be a part of that,” Gonzalez said. “They really saved many lives during that time, so I wanted to join them.”
Daniel Bowles is a career Army medic with two tours of duty in Afghanistan under his belt. Daniel was on a recruiting assignment in Springfield when he learned about OTC’s new bachelor’s program and wanted to join the inaugural class.
“Well, I figured since we’re the first, we kind of set the pace for future classes,” Bowles said. “It allows the teachers and faculty to iron out the wrinkles in the program, and I’m happy to set that tone for the rest of the classes to come.”
Lebanon native Jade Humphreys came to OTC straight out of high school using the state’s A+ scholarship program. Jade started hoping to become a nurse, but after completing her prerequisites, she pivoted to the bachelor’s degree. She attended classes at the college’s new respiratory therapy lab in Waynesville, where she was the only student.
“We’d zoom in and talk with Samantha, Daniel and the instructors,” Humphreys said. “It was a learning curve, having to make sure the cameras and audio worked, but it was fun.”
Bowles will continue his Army career and plans to become a full-time respiratory therapist after serving his country. Gonzalez already has a job lined up with a local hospital, and Humphreys is finalizing plans for her post-graduate career.
OTC already has 16 students in the pipeline to graduate in May 2025.