This content was published: July 24, 2006. Phone numbers, email addresses, and other information may have changed.
Hatago’s future comes into focus
Photos and story by James Hill
Kimberly Hatago ’05 Ophthalmic Medical Technology Hopes to return someday to teach at PCC
You could say that it took Kim Hatago a while to see her future clearly. She was smart, but high school just never seemed to click for her. She dropped out and got a job at Pizza Hut. In time she was a supervisor at the restaurant.
“I knew I didn’t want to do that for the rest of my life,” Kim says, “and I also knew that going back to school was the only way to change things. PCC had a program that would let me earn my G.E.D. and then continue on, so I signed up.”
Then one day she had, well, a vision. “I opened up the PCC catalog and saw something about eyeballs,” Kim remembers, “and I thought it might be kind of cool. I wanted to get involved in the medical field, but I didn’t want to deal with a lot of blood! That’s how I wound up in the Ophthalmic Medical Technology program.”
Today, Kim is the eye care professional you see before the eye doctor, the one who performs the preliminary eye exams, dilates your pupils and takes your history. She works at Oregon Eye Specialists, who hired her even before she graduated.
“I did my practicum here,” says Kim, “and they liked my work, I guess, because I started my job at OES one week after I graduated! It’s really great that PCC helps you get that kind of experience while you’re going to school. I’ve never had the kind of support I found at PCC. My classmates are now my friends, and the teachers are awesome. Everyone at PCC was always there for me
About James Hill
James G. Hill, an award-winning journalist and public relations writer, is the Director of Public Relations at Portland Community College. A graduate of Portland State University, James has worked as a section editor for the Newberg Graphic... more »