Graduate Angie Smith ‘25 came to Newman with an nontraditional, but meaningful path.
Smith returned to school as a diagnostic medical sonography student and a 40-year-old mother of two.
“I’m not a typical young 20-year-old,” Smith said. “Going back to school — especially here at Newman — they made you feel welcome.”
She said the program was life-changing for her because of the relationships she formed.
“I don’t think it was something that I would’ve ever been able to do without the instructors and the students that were here with me,” she said.
For Smith, the decision to pursue sonography was rooted in her own family’s medical journey. When her oldest daughter was born with heart defects, frequent ultrasounds became part of their lives.
“Just getting to see that as a young mom and the care that they gave us, just inspired me years later to go into it,” she said.
The experience with her daughter now shapes how Smith approaches patient care. She emphasized that working in the medical field requires a shift in perspective.
“It’s not just about you anymore,” she said. “You have to put your worries and your struggles aside and focus on what that person is dealing with.”
Balancing school and family life was not easy.
“I feel like personally, I have to work really hard in my studies, and I know that I did that because I put my family aside for the last two years so I could complete this.”
Now, she plans to use her degree to continue serving patients with the same level of compassion that once inspired her and her family.
“Ultrasound … it’s a very small community,” she said. “I think that Newman being the only one in Wichita, it’s special because we’re from here. The students come from here. We are all proud of that and I know that our instructors are proud of that as well.”
Sonography program expanded in Southwest Kansas
Newman’s diagnostic sonography degree has recently expanded outside of Wichita with a hybrid path that allows students in Southwest Kansas to enter the program closer to home. This way, more non-traditional students like Smith don’t have to uproot their lives and family for their education.
Alden Stout, director of the program and vice president of academic affairs, said the expansion is meant to remove geographic barriers that often prevent rural students from entering specialized medical fields.
“This is an opportunity for students in southwest Kansas to complete a high-quality program without having to relocate,” he said.
The expansion includes partnerships with regional health care providers and clinical sites in Dodge City and Garden City, where students in those areas can complete hands-on clinical training. Coursework will be delivered through a combination of online instruction and periodic in-person labs.
School of Heathcare Professions information session.
“We’re not only educating students, but we’re also helping meet workforce needs in those communities,” Stout said.
Now, students in and around those areas don’t need to relocate to Wichita in order to receive their education in sonography.
Diagnostic Medical Sonography at Newman
Students are trained to be highly skilled medical professionals that perform diagnostic ultrasound testing under the supervision of a physician.
