HIT program helps alumna meet her career goals

Rhonda Taylor-Evans graduated from the HIT program in 2020.

When Rhonda Taylor-Evans, 52, first became part of the GTCC community, she was working toward a nursing degree. When she started having trouble with her kidneys, she had to step back from her education and focus on her health.

Taylor-Evans proved to herself and to her family that her health issues were only a temporary setback when she enrolled in the Health Information Technologies program in 2019. Her re-enrollment at GTCC would prove beneficial in many ways, both professionally and personally.

Before her return to GTCC, Taylor-Evans had experience with coding in the health field, having worked with patient registration and admittance as well as insurance verification.

With her experience in the field and the opportunities that come with a degree, Taylor-Evans knew she wanted to be part of the GTCC HIT program.

“I liked the versatility of it. You can go in so many different areas, you never can get stagnant in that area,” she said. “It’s something for everybody, and the pay is very good.”

Though a wage increase was part of why Taylor-Evans wanted to pursue her degree, it wasn't her main motivator.
“It was actually getting back to doing something I actually enjoyed… I had been doing it for 10 years before then as a coder. I thoroughly enjoyed that, so just to get a degree in something that you actually like doing is pretty good,” Taylor-Evans said.

In addition to her existing experience in the field, Taylor-Evans gained a plethora of new skills and hands-on experience from the HIT program. To fulfill her degree requirements, she took coding courses that both refreshed and updated her knowledge in health care coding. Her favorite part of the program was the internship she completed, which gave her a better idea of how companies operated within the field.

Despite all the positives, Taylor-Evans faced her share of challenges as she went through the program. Aside from having to balance school, motherhood, and work, she was also in recovery from a kidney transplant.

She was still able to graduate on time. Taylor-Evans earned her diploma from GTCC in 2020, just one year after joining the program. After graduating, she secured a higher-paying position with Novant Health as a coder, a step-up from the job she had while in school.

She also has the benefit of being a more marketable employee with additional opportunities to further her education. By January of 2023, Taylor-Evans hopes to become a Certified Inpatient Coder and to receive her Clinical Documentation Improvement certificate, with the goal of being promoted to a team leader position.

Having been one of the first graduates of GTCC’s HIT program, Taylor-Evans exemplifies what can come from dedication, ambition, and perseverance.

“It’s a great accomplishment. Being a mom, working, and being a single parent all at the same time.

“It gave me some fulfillment that I can still accomplish something, even when going through a lot.”