We’d like to introduce you to Diane Dupire. Diane is an unusual spotlight subject for us as she is both a Carrington College graduate and employee. Those of you familiar with our Mesa campus will recognize Diane as our front desk receptionist, but you may not know that she is also a double graduate, having successfully completed two of our programs. 
Diane wanted to go to college after high school, but she couldn’t afford it at the time; and then, in her words, she started having kids! Now a mother of 6 (with 5 girls and 1 boy aged 28 to 16), Diane was a stay at home mom for 14 years before becoming a single mom, which meant that she had to go back to work full-time, leaving no money or time for school. But that changed in 2007 when Diane moved to Arizona, via a stay in New Mexico, from New York. She came to the Phoenix area with her 2 youngest children to care for an aunt with inoperable brain cancer.
“When I moved out here I started looking for work, but all I got were fiddly little retail jobs; I knew I could do better. My aunt knew I’d always wanted to go to college, so she said that if I still wanted to, she would support me 100%. I jumped at the chance!”
When Diane first started looking at colleges after her aunt’s offer, she checked out medical programs at 3 different colleges, including Carrington, over just 3 days. Diane had always had an interest in health care, having worked in the medical field on and off for 30 years, but had never been certified.
“I noticed the difference with Carrington immediately; it was the way the Enrollment Services Representatives treated me, and the way they explained things. I felt so much more at ease than at the other schools; I quickly knew that this was the place for me. I wanted to get my Medical Assistant certification because I knew it would help me jump start my career. So I started the program in March 2008, I graduated in January 09.”
But while studying the Medical Assisting certificate program Diane surprised herself with the discovery that she actually liked front office work better than the back office.
“It’s so strange that I had to go through the course to realize that I didn’t want to see people in pain! I didn’t want to stick needles in them, I would much rather do the paperwork side!”
To her credit, Diane completed the Medical Assisting program even though she realized that was not where her future would lie. With that realization, she then started to investigate our Medical Office Management associate degree program.
“I didn’t know if I would have time to go on and do the MOM associate degree program. I’m a single parent, I’m looking after my aunt, and working full-time. And although I really wanted to get my degree, I didn’t want it to interfere with my work or other commitments; I just didn’t think I had the time. But when I found out that online was an option, I decided to go for it.”
Diane started the MOM program in June last year, and just graduated on April 1st. What she really likes about her new front office skills are that they are not just relevant to the healthcare industry; they can be put to good use in any office. She’s using some of those new skills now as our Mesa director of first impressions (Mesa campus receptionist!), but she hopes to stay with us and progress her career.
“I would love to stay with Carrington; and work my way up, possibly into HR. That’s actually my goal; I love the infrastructure here, the people I work with, and I love helping out the students. I don’t know if my goal has shifted from medical to administration, I’m not really sure. But I do know that the administration program is definitely going to help me.”
Diane believes that Carrington is a great choice for prospective students who are considering college.
“When you first go in they don’t pressure you; they’re so flexible, they really cater to your schedule, which is really important. They don’t talk down to you, they are so down to earth, and the whole atmosphere is very comfortable. They make it so easy to get through the enrollment process.”
But it’s not just the Enrollment Representatives that differentiate Carrington from other schools in Diane’s opinion; and while a smooth, comfortable enrollment process can be ‘make or break’ for students in their decision making process , the rest of the ‘package’ is equally important.
“The instructors are phenomenal. They are very well informed, they’re educated and know exactly what they are talking about. The whole school is so student oriented; everyone is there to help the students. That’s what I really love about it. And I’m not just saying this because I work at Carrington. Believe me, I can be very objective! In fact none of my online instructors knew that I work for Carrington!”
Going to school later in life brought a few surprises for Diane because she had a few preconceptions about what college would be like, and not all of them were good.
“When I thought about college, I had automatically thought about 300 students in a room with an instructor off in the distance with the spotlight on him/her. I expected to be just a number. I was really surprised that classes were small and that the instructors wanted to make sure that my personal well-being was taken care of, so I could learn and be comfortable through the whole thing. It was a really caring, learning atmosphere, and that really caught me off guard, but in a good way because I wasn’t expecting that. I was also surprised at the diversity of ages of the students; I thought I would be surrounded by kids that were my daughters’ age!”
Now that Diane has completed her Medical Office Management associate degree, she finally has the qualification she needs to help her build her career; she is excited about a future that she hopes will be with Carrington.
“The whole Carrington experience over the last 4 years has been the best time of my life. I got my MA certification here, I’ve worked here for almost 3 years, and now I’ve graduated with my MOM degree, I just love it here. When I graduated from the MA program 3 years ago, I told them they wouldn’t be able to get rid of me. And look, I’m still here!”
We’re delighted to have you Diane! Thanks for your time and good luck your career at Carrington College. For comprehensive consumer information on our Medical Assisting program, visit https://carrington.edu/degrees/medical-assisting/ For comprehensive consumer information on our Medical Office Management program, visit https://carrington.edu/degrees/medical-office-management/ Program availability varies by location.
