2021 CSCC Medical Assisting Graduate Katherine Towne Jumps Right Into Her Career

Napierra Alexander
Tuesday, July 20, 2021 12:00 AM
All, Community, Students, Alumni, Press Releases

CLEVELAND, Tenn. - When you graduate from college, it’s not very common to jump right into your career, but that was the case for Katherine Towne. Being a spring 2021 graduate of the Medical Assisting Program at Cleveland State Community College, Towne knew exactly what she wanted to do with her degree. 

“I have always had an interest in the medical field since I was younger,” stated Towne, CSCC Medical Assistant Graduate. “My mom actually found medical assisting online and helped me apply. The more I looked into the program, the more it sounded exactly what I was looking for.”

Towne started her journey to becoming a certified medical assistant by attending CSCC in 2019. After being apprehensive about going to a college with no friends, she ultimately slowly grew into a shining student and friend to many peers. Not only did she want to achieve her degree, but she also got involved in many campus activities and clubs. She was the CSCC Medical Assisting Student Association Secretary, a Student Ambassador, a Student Senate representative, and a community volunteer. While Towne was active on campus, she became a dependable and ambitious student for her instructors, graduating with the highest honor of summa cum laude. 

“Katie is exceptionally bright, and it was wonderful having her in class,” stated Heidi McLean, Director of CSCC’s Medical Assisting Program. “She was determined to earn the highest scores possible on all of her exams and competency check-offs. Her classmates leaned on her for encouragement and support, and Katie was an excellent example of leadership, perseverance and the caring spirit every healthcare professional needs to be successful.”

Currently, Towne works at Physician First triaging patients, obtaining vital signs, assisting providers in minor procedures, and other medical assistant duties. As she works in her career field as a CMA, she’s also deciding whether to go back to school for a nursing specialty. 

Towne was in the group of medical assisting students who got the first opportunity to use the new Health and Science Center. With state-of-the-art simulated physicians offices and laboratories, she had the opportunity to experience hands-on learning in a real world setting.  

“Being able to practice with each other definitely made it easier and made me more confident when I got out in the real world and had to do it with strangers,” said Towne.

Today, if you ask Towne about her career she can confidently say she enjoys her job. She loves to be around her coworkers and superiors as they’ve taken her under their wings. What she loves most about her job is that no day is the same. Each day can be a different challenge to tackle for Towne, but she’s always up for the challenge. 

Students who would like to be a part of CSCC’s medical assisting program will be able to learn and experience in the brand new state of the art Health and Science Center.  The building gives students real life medical environments with moc doctor offices, ambulance simulators, and laboratories. The center opened in the Spring of 2021 and classes are being held now. If you would like more information on the medical assisting program or would like to register, you can visit www.mycs.cc/fallprograms or Med_Assisting@clevelandstatecc.edu.