Upon first glance, Alexis Cribb seems like many new college students. She smiles a lot. She’s courteous and has the proverbial stars in her eyes about her future. After talking with her at length though, you know Cribb is different. 

She’s the kind of student many strive to be. She’s driven and focused. Cribb says she knows exactly what she wants to do when she graduates from college and exactly the path she’s taking to get there. That path is technical education, Cribb said.

Cribb said she was first introduced to Ogeechee Technical College when she was a student at Statesboro High. Taking dual enrollment classes at OTC and Georgia Southern University, the teenager took various core classes as well as a mechatronics class. 

Cribb said it was a chance meeting with someone related to her mother’s job that made her consider the field of echocardiography, which is the use of ultrasound to make moving pictures of a heart with sound waves. 

She then met a second person who was also related to the field — Capre Mitchell, echocardiography instructor at Ogeechee Tech.

“I met two people from the same field and I just felt like it had to be a sign,” Cribb said.

Mitchell was impressed with Cribb immediately.

  “Alexis is a very bright, inquisitive student who I expect to go far in this field,” Mitchell said.

Cribb researched the competitive admissions program and decided echocardiography was where she wanted to be.  

“We live in a society that places high value on four-year degrees, and some people think if we’re not choosing a university, it’s a waste of talent,” Cribb said. “I don’t find that to be true at all. College definitely isn’t one size fits all.” 

Cribb was valedictorian of her graduating class at Statesboro High in 2016 and said technical college may not be something students who finish at the top of their class would consider. Most opt for a traditional university experience, she said. 

Cribb, however, said technical college was her first choice. 

“I love school and I love challenges,” she said. “I would have done well at a traditional university but I was looking for a viable, in-demand career. The other options I considered were not a good fit for me.” 

Cribb said two major factors in deciding to get a technical college degree was knowing she won’t start her career with debt and she won’t struggle to find a job in her field. 

Even though she just turned 19, Cribb said she knows and understands the importance of a highly-skilled, trained workforce, and the impact the workforce has on communities.

Cribb said she is looking forward to a career in the medical field that will allow her to support herself and perhaps immerse herself in other countries and cultures. She wants to minister to others spiritually, as well as physically.  

“We just started clinical rotations,” Cribb said. “It’s all starting to make sense. Everything is starting to make sense. I can’t wait to start my life and be able to use my new knowledge to assist people. I’m looking forward to being able to better the lives of my future patients.”