Mother and daughter, Erica Cabrera and Alexandra Gooding, are pursuing the surgical technician program together at St. Joseph’s University, writes Madeline Marriott for SJU News.
Gooding was in the first year of the two-year program when her passion inspired her mother, who was contemplating a career change. She was previously an executive assistant at the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire, where she helped organize events such as beer festivals.
“It was one of those feast or famine situations: I was either way too busy or bored to death,” said Cabrera. “I just felt mentally and physically stunted.”
Cabrera holds a bachelor’s degree in physical anthropology and has long been interested in physical and mental health, so St. Joseph’s surgical technology certificate program was a natural next step. Now she and her daughter are studying side by side, motivating each other through a healthy dose of friendly competition.
“There was a time when she made a tiny error in a simulation lab that would have been a no-no in a clinical setting, and I said that in front of the class,” said Gooding. “But it was going to make her better. That’s the goal: to make her the best she can be.”
Read more about the mother-daughter duo at St. Joseph’s University surgical technician program in SJU News.
