Georgia Southern graduate’s journey from caregiver to mammographer 

Savannah resident Olivia Ortiz graduated with her Bachelor of Science in radiologic sciences from Georgia Southern University this May. As she walked across the stage, she carried with her the memories of the day her journey to a college degree began: when her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. 

“My sister and I went to school, same as any other day,” she said. “When we got home, my parents sat us on the couch. I went numb, silent. There was nothing I could say.” 

The next two years flew by at an excruciatingly slow pace. Ortiz spent days of her senior year of high school by her mother’s side during chemotherapy treatments. 

“She was actually allergic to the treatment,” she explained. “So what would have been a two-hour treatment turned into a six-hour treatment, because it had to be dripped so slowly.” 

Her family became caregivers overnight. Ortiz jokes that her father worked the day shift, while she clocked in at night.

“There would be days when we wouldn’t see each other,” she said. “There was this uncertainty of what was going to happen and how this would all play out.”

But as she walked across the stage to receive her high school diploma, her mother was cheering her on from the crowd. Ortiz says the energy her mother brought was crucial when she started college. 

“I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do,” she said. “Health care has always interested me, and I knew I wanted to explore that.”

Despite the pain of her mother’s journey, it gave her the chance to see how a medical team functions when a patient is diagnosed with cancer. 

“It was really important to have that perspective,” she explained. “The way the radiation therapist, the mammographer, the doctor, the radiologist worked to provide care… When I saw that, I knew exactly where I wanted to be.”

Ortiz joined the radiologic sciences program to study diagnostic imaging, specifically mammography, diving headfirst into a new set of challenges. 

“It’s a lot of time to commit,” she said. “I’m in clinic for 40-plus hours a week, and that’s without studying or preparing to sit for board exams.”

But her support system grew as she progressed through the program. 

“You have to find your people that you want to study with,” Ortiz explained. “You have to find the ones that will ride it out with you, because things become really stressful, really fast.” 

She chipped away at the work day by day, and soon, her patience and determination were rewarded. She wrapped her studies and began to prepare for her board certification exam. Her mother, who has been in remission for several years, was with her every step of the way.  

“She was checking in with me daily,” she said. “When I would go to school, when I got home, it was ‘how was school? How are you feeling today?'” 

Ortiz has since accepted a position as a mammographer at the Telfair Cancer Pavilion at Candler Hospital in Savannah. As this chapter of her dream comes to a close, a new one begins.

“My mother’s experience with cancer showed me that experiences like these are about more than treatment,” Ortiz explained. “I can tell when patients are nervous or scared. I want them to know they’re safe with me and that I’m going to take care of them. Just like I did with my mother.”