Philippine Native and USU-Uintah Basin Student Accepted into PA School

In 2008, Noel Christian Guido, known in the community as Guidz, left the Philippines to come to the United States with the hopes of fulfilling his educational and professional potential. While searching online, he came across a medical technologist job at the Uintah Basin Medical Center (UBMC). He applied, was offered the job, then soon after flew to the start of his new life in Roosevelt, Utah.

“I always dreamed of pursuing a career in the medical field,” said Guidz. “My education and work have motivated me to be resilient and to never stop dreaming, even if it meant leaving the Philippines for more opportunities. It was tough deciding to leave my family, I want to be there with them, but this decision helped me find my calling in life which is to become a medical practitioner.”

Guidz was well received in the community, adapted to the new culture, and thrived in his current career as a Serology-Immunology supervisor at UBMC. After working in his current job for a few years, Guidz realized he wanted to provide more help to patients. At UBMC, he provides a lot of indirect help, such as analyzing body fluid samples, but now he wants to help throughout the entire medical process directly.

“I have a passion for helping people. I want to meet with patients face-to-face and provide them with the quality care they need and deserve,” said Guidz. “Education brings out the best version of myself and will help me on my path to serve others. That is one of the things I value the most and that no one can take away from me.”

To fulfill his dream of becoming a medical practitioner, Guidz applied for Physician Assistant (PA) programs throughout the United States. While waiting to be accepted, he started his second bachelor’s degree at Utah State University-Uintah Basin, majoring in biology with a minor in chemistry, since a biology degree is the most accepted and recognized premed course in the US.

According to Guidz, USU-Uintah Basin helped prepare him for the next chapter of his life. “PA school is hard work, and taking classes at USU has given me a solid foundation in biological sciences needed to succeed. They have been flexible with my work schedule, the student to faculty ratio is sufficient enough that I could thrive in difficult materials, and my professors provided important letters of recommendation in my PA school applications.”

Guidz was officially accepted into PA school at Alderson Broaddus University in West Virginia. He will start this May and pause his current bachelor’s degree at USU-Uintah Basin. Once he finishes PA school in 2020, he is planning on returning to finish his remaining three semesters and attain a USU degree, where he is on track to graduate Summa Cum Laude with a 3.98 GPA.