Gainesville — For Julie Ness, the decision to attend North Central Texas College six years after graduating from high school was an easy one.

After growing up in Lindsay and then graduating from Naaman Forrest High School in Garland in 1996, Ness spent the next six years waiting tables and managing restaurants.

“Waiting tables gets old and the money isn’t guaranteed,” she said. “I had four kids I needed to provide for, so I decided to go back to school.”

She enrolled at NCTC in 2002, and received an associate’s degree in art. She had planned on moving on to a larger college to study radiology technology, since at that time, the closest schools offering the program were Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls and El Centro College in Dallas.

But then, a miracle happened.

NCTC started its own radiology technology program in 2005, and Ness applied and was accepted. She graduated in 2007, and immediately got a job at Muenster Memorial Hospital (MMH) as a weekend tech. She moved to full time at MMH in 2009, and become the director of the hospital’s radiology department in 2011.

“When NCTC brought in the ‘Rad Tech’ program, it was such a God-send, being so close to home,” said Ness, who lives in Era along with her husband and four children — including one who just graduated from high school this past year and is looking at the nursing programs at NCTC herself.

But for Ness, the desire to work in the medical field started when she was young.

“In high school, my plan was to go to school and become a radiological technologist,” she said. “I love helping people. My job is very rewarding. I think that your patients can really tell when you care about them.”

At NCTC, Ness found the program she was looking for, along with caring and dedicated instructors who pushed her to do well, especially program coordinator Melanie Billmeier.

“The want for me to succeed from my professors was just awesome,” she said. “I was a single mom with four children and going back to college wasn’t easy. Melanie made it attainable. I wouldn’t be where I am without the dedication of NCTC professors like Melanie Billmeier.”

Billmeier, who herself began her college career at NCTC, says Ness is an inspiration to others looking to return to school.

“She had an amazing level of responsibilities that went far beyond just school,” Billmeier said. “Although she did well in her studies, she always seemed to keep her priorities in balance. Her no-nonsense attitude is what, I believe, contributed to her level of success in such a relatively short time frame.  She understands what needs to be done and how to do it.

“She is a Cooke County native that has stayed to give back to the area,” Billmeier added. “Her leadership skills continue to benefit our program as well through her mentorship of student radiographers that work with her through clinical rotations at Muenster Memorial Hospital.”

Ness encourages others wanting to change careers or better their lives to look into the radiology program at NCTC.

“If I can do it with four children while working, then so can you,” she said. “It wasn’t easy. It wasn’t handed to me, but it is worth it and it can be done.”

To successfully complete the radiology program and earn an Associate of Applied Science degree and apply to take the national registry exam for radiologic technologists, students at NCTC must complete a total of 72 semester credit hours — 49 in radiology courses, and 23 in prerequisites and required support courses.

For more information about NCTC’s radiology program, contact Billmeier at (940) 668-3392.