Taking dual-enrollment classes and attending a health sciences academy while still in high school helped Cody Henderson decide to embark on a career in medical laboratory technology.
Med lab techs perform testing that leads to the critical information doctors need to diagnose, treat, and monitor a patient’s condition.
Before graduating from Skyline High School in 2023, Henderson took numerous dual-enrollment classes, including biology, introduction to anatomy, and three English classes with Skyline teacher Matt Kull. All of the classes were at his high school.
“I wanted to better myself and prepare for college classes,” said Henderson. “The way he taught was very rigid and structured, and I felt like it would be an appropriate way to see what college really would be like. I loved my dual-enrolled classes. They were very self-controlled – I felt like I could do things on my own time, which was something that normal classes wouldn’t have allowed. With the dual-enrollment classes, I could go as fast or as slow as I wanted to.”
Nancy Ris, career coach at Skyline and Warren County high schools, suggested that Henderson attend a health sciences summer program for high school students hosted by Laurel Ridge, Valley Health and Shenandoah University. He knew he wanted to work in the medical field, but wasn’t sure which area.
“Medical laboratory technology was one of the classes with Professor Kate Gochenour that week,” said Henderson, who works full time for Dunkin. “I absolutely fell in love with it based on how she introduced what we would be doing.”
Henderson said he was first inspired to work in the medical field by the TV show “Bones,” the long-running drama about an FBI agent working with an anthropologist to identify skeletal remains.
“I started watching it in middle school, and I just knew I wanted to go into medicine,” he said. “I was really interested in all the testing and also the good that we could do to help people get better.”
Being diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes in the eighth grade also inspired Henderson’s vocation.
“I received such good care from the hospital,” he said. “I really want to give back and help people like Inova Fairfax Hospital helped me.”
Following his graduation from Skyline, Henderson enrolled at Laurel Ridge and began taking prerequisites for the med lab tech program. He had some struggles at the start of his program, but decided to try again, seeing the challenges as an opportunity to grow.
“This cohort of students is an absolutely great cohort with amazing people,” said Henderson, who expects to graduate in spring 2026. “My classes seemed confusing and difficult at first, but once you actually get into the material and you start researching for your final project, you start taking more classes and you start compiling everything from the previous classes, it all comes together and starts locking into place.
“My professors are absolutely amazing and they’re really, really helpful, kind and thoughtful to me and my classmates.”
He said he plans to work in the field after graduation for a couple of years and hopes to get his bachelor’s degree from Virginia Commonwealth University.
“I’m interested in going further with my education, probably going into teaching,” Henderson said.
In addition to helping him feel prepared for how college would be and to get a jump start on building his credits, Henderson said the dual-enrollment program – and those additional English classes, in particular – had another benefit.
“There are a lot of words that really connect to each other in the Medical Laboratory Technology program,” he said. “I’m really grateful for all the teachers for giving me patience and giving me their attention and helping me grow, not only as a student, but also as a person.
“If you ever feel like you’re stuck and you’re failing or a failure, there are always people anywhere and everywhere who are willing to help you, and there are people out there who care for you and will do anything and everything to see you succeed.”
Learn more about the Medical Laboratory Technology program at laurelridge.edu/MLT.
Laurel Ridge Community College was known as Lord Fairfax Community College until June 2022. For consistency purposes, the college will be referenced as Laurel Ridge going forward.