Andrew Milton, Respiratory Care

For much of his 20s, Andrew Milton of Salisbury grappled with the same question that so many people his age struggle to answer: “What do I want to do with my life?” With admittedly few passions or goals, he drifted from an initial attempt at NECC’s general studies program, to working a job for a year, to enrollment at Liberty University. All these situations ended the same way: with his lack of interest causing him to move on.

Things changed, however, when his older sister gave birth to a baby girl with dangerous health complications — which, among other things, required her to have a tracheotomy and be on a ventilator. While it was a harrowing experience, Andrew says he was moved by watching the respiratory therapists do everything they could to save his niece.

“That’s when I realized these people have a career where you can actually make a difference,” he says. “I think that’s what made things finally click.”

Andrew soon enrolled in Northern Essex’s Associate Respiratory Care Program, landing part-time work at Lowell General Hospital, while still a student. He happily discovered he had chosen the right career.

He graduated with honors from the program in May and stepped right into a job at the hospital.  He plans to pursue a bachelor’s degree in respiratory care online while working.

“It took me a little longer to find my path,” he says. “But now that I’ve found it, I’m only going onward and upward from here.”

“It took me a little longer to find my path, but now that I’ve found it, I’m only going onward and upward from here.”

For more information on the Respiratory Care Program at Northern Essex, contact Enrollment Services, admissions@necc.mass.edu or 978-556-3700.