Respiratory Therapy Alumna Returns to TTC

When respiratory therapist Karen Simmons transitioned from a clinical career to teaching, she never would have guessed that a respiratory virus would be responsible for a global pandemic just six months later. 

“It felt weird not to be in the middle of it, but I realized that my impact would be much greater by teaching and advocating for the profession,” she says

Simmons graduated from Trident Tech in 1997 and went on to treat patients for more than 20 years. Now, as the clinical coordinator for the Respiratory Therapy program at the College, she is hoping more students decide to go into the field. 

"Respiratory therapists are in high-demand, playing a critical role in the fight against the Coronavirus," she says. 

Respiratory therapists focus on the treatment, management, control, evaluation and care of patients who have trouble breathing. They typically care for patients with chronic respiratory disease, such as asthma or emphysema, as well as patients who suffer from heart attacks, sleep apnea, shock or other problems that may affect breathing.  

Now with the pandemic, respiratory therapists are needed to oxygenate patients’ lungs, support them through the worst of the virus and help them recover.

Simmons says, “Because of the critical nature of their work, respiratory therapists are ALWAYS on the front lines.”

Simmons grew up poor in a small town in South Carolina. Neither of her parents had attended college, but they encouraged her to set her sights higher. She made good grades and her teachers and counselors all expected her to continue her studies beyond high school.

But when she became pregnant at 15, all of that ended.

“All of a sudden college wasn’t discussed at all, like there were no options,” she says.

Simmons had no desire to stay in her small town, let alone as a single mom without a degree. She knew there had to be a way to still reach her goals. So she went to summer school,  graduated a year early and started at TTC soon after.

Now that she is back at Trident Technical College, she is working on her master’s degree and doing everything in her power to help students succeed.

But she says she was not prepared for the emotional impact her new position would have on her.

 “I have students - some with families - that are living in a motel until they can graduate and find a job,” she says. “They are so motivated to change their lives. It inspires me to want to help them.”

And she knows that all it takes is one person to make a difference.

“I didn’t have money, but I had people. When you grow up very poor and get pregnant at 15, to be able to graduate from college is a big deal. I appreciate every one of my students, knowing they are following a similar path,” she says.

Learn more about Respiratory Care at Trident Technical College.