Trading places: SCC medical lab graduates swap lives between Disney World and coastal N.C.
Southeastern Community College produced two standout Medical Laboratory Technology graduates who are working every day in a career they love. Christa Lynch, a 2019 graduate, recently moved from her Brunswick County lab manager position to working at her favorite place on Earth, Disney World. Chad Spicer, a 2020 graduate, moved from his marine biologist role at Sea World and Disney World to the shores of Ocean Isle Beach. With Lynch initially working with human samples and now working with animals and Spicer first working with animals and now working with human samples, they both share a common link: SCC’s MLT program.
Dawn Williamson, SCC’s MLT and Phlebotomy Program Director as well as the MLT instructor, said that Lynch and Spicer were stellar students with incredible success stories. Williamson described Spicer as “very smart and very particular about his lab work” with excellent evaluations from his clinical sites. Williamson described Lynch as “very intelligent who digs deeper and wants to know more. She has very good critical thinking skills and knows a lot of things about healthcare in general.”
At SCC, MLT students will receive extensive training in analyzing the chemical and cellular composition of blood and bodily fluids. Medical laboratory technicians are responsible for disease and cancer research, analyzing bacteria and trauma care. They prescribe units of blood for injured patients, without maintaining consistent contact with patients that physicians, nurses and other hospital staff do.
Lynch’s Success Story
After graduating from SCC’s MLT program in 2019, Lynch worked as a medical laboratory technician at Novant Brunswick for one year while working on her bachelor’s degree in Clinical Laboratory Science from Winston-Salem State University. With a new four-year degree in possession, Lynch moved to Wilmington Health. In May 2022, Lynch moved into a lab manager position at Novant Health New Hanover Primary Care and Express Care in Brunswick Forest and stayed there for three years.
For the past five years, Lynch has supported MLT students as a scholarship donor. She said she wants to help SCC’s MLT program in any way possible since it opened the doors to her dream career. Boosting her credentials even further, Lynch earned a master’s degree in healthcare administration from Winston-Salem State University in May 2024.
When a former MLT student and recipient of her MLT scholarship, Briana Edwards, notified Lynch about the job opening at Disney World, she took the plunge. Lynch is now working as an Animal Health Lab Technologist at Animal Kingdom and Animal Kingdom Lodge at Disney World, a job she never imagined having.
“All of their methods are manual, so Southeastern gave me the best foundation in manual methods with counting and other procedures,” Lynch said. “Since the use of instruments has automated much of the work in MLT, I’m so glad that I learned the manual methods that are done at Disney.”
Lynch’s favorite part of working at Disney World is the animals. She said that she was welcomed with open arms by the vet techs, pathologists and veterinarians. Lynch explained that having lab techs from the human world is a new concept at Disney World, and the reception to her arrival has been “phenomenal.”
Lynch’s workspace lab, Rafiki’s Planet Watch and Conservation Station, is an open show piece for park guests to observe and learn about animal conservation. She explained that anyone can watch her work in the lab, and her microscopes are connected to TVs so guests can see what she sees under the lens. The transparent nature of her work is attributed to the fact that Disney World operates as an Association of Zoos and Aquariums-accredited zoo and operates at the highest standards of a zoo.
“In human healthcare, you help people heal,” Lynch explained. “In animal health, you become part of something even bigger by protecting wildlife, species survival and contributing to conservation.”
Instead of testing human samples, Lynch runs diagnostics for exotic and endangered species from tiny toads and birds to large African elephants and giraffes. She said that each day brings new challenges, and as someone who loves to learn, she sees every moment as a chance to grow.
Lynch, who was a certified phlebotomist when she entered the MLT program at SCC, said that Williamson was the catalyst that attracted and propelled her through the program. Hearing excellent reviews from SCC MLT graduates who worked with her in her local hospital’s laboratory, Lynch wanted to take her career to the next level. Having the flexibility of a hybrid program that was part online and part in person, Lynch continued to work as a phlebotomist while completing her coursework.
“The constant support I had in the program and the support I have today, six years later, is probably my favorite part of MLT at SCC,” Lynch said. “The material of the program is so solid and so in-depth. SCC’s MLT program is top tier.”
Having a solid foundation laid out for her in the Intro to MLT class, Lynch knew then that MLT was the right career path for her. The combination of a small class size, the one-on-one attention and Williamson’s confidence boosting lectures solidified her choice to continue in the program.
“I’ve always had that love of science, and I’m naturally that ‘helper person’ but I’m not a nurse,” Lynch said. “I love that instant gratification that the lab has when I get a sample, run the sample and get the results. I feel like that is what pulled me into my MLT career.”
Spicer’s Success Story
After graduating from SCC’s MLT program in 2020, Spicer challenged the American Society for Clinical Pathology board and obtained his MLS degree without having to go through a medical laboratory scientist program. With a bachelor’s degree in biology in possession before completing his tenure at SCC, Spicer’s four-year degree combined with his MLT degree was enough for him to challenge the national boards and pass.
Spicer’s first year and a half in the MLT program went by as normally as possible. It wasn’t until the March 2020 COVID-19 pandemic that things got a little more challenging for completing his degree program. With completion in question and wondering how he would finish, Spicer said the transition to online was “strange but it worked.”
Spicer commended the support he received from Williamson and her availability outside of class time for extra help. He enjoyed the small class size and personal attention from his instructors.
“You know, you don’t always get that from the bigger colleges, with it being so hard to get ahold of the professor,” Spicer said. “I knew that first-hand from getting my four-year degree in biology from the University of Central Florida.”
When his wife got a job as a pharmacist in Ocean Isle Beach, they moved from Florida and away from Sea World and Walt Disney World’s Living Seas; where he worked as a marine biologist. Having lab experience in his former job, Spicer searched online for lab-related jobs and found lab tech positions available in the southeastern North Carolina region. Spicer did another online search for MLT programs and landed on SCC.
“The organization of the MLT program, the direction I got and the kind of instruction I received really set me up for success in finding a job,” Spicer said. “At first, I got on part-time at McLeod Seacoast Hospital for a few months and then moved to the New Hanover medical group where I’m at now called Novant Health’s New Hanover Primary Care in Wilmington.”
Transitioning from the animal world to the human world in healthcare, Spicer said that he has always loved science. Working at Sea World and Disney’s Living Seas for many years and now working in a lab that tests human samples, Spicer feels like it was a natural progression in his career that was similar to what he did previously. He was also motivated to enter the world of MLT due to the growing need for lab technicians.
Due to the rigor and challenge of the MLT program, Spicer advised new students to never be afraid to ask questions and seek extra help from instructors or on-campus tutoring services.
Outside of work, Spicer enjoys spending time with his wife, Catherine Spicer, and their 5-year-old son, Ethan. They like to hang out at the beach and go swimming.
Ready to dive into your dream career like Christa and Chad did at SCC? Spring registration begins Nov. 3. To learn more about the MLT program, visit this MLT program information resource!
The program is accredited by the National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Sciences (NAACLS), 5600 N. River Rd, Suite 720, Rosemont IL 60018-5119.
