When he was young, Dustin visited a close family member in the hospital and decided he wanted to help care for people. He thought school would always come naturally to him, and when he started CVTC's Respiratory Therapy program, he had his hands in many things, so classes took a back burner. He began to struggle and ended up dropping out of the program.

After taking time away from school to re-focus, he met with program faculty Don and Theresa, who laid out what he would need to do to come back. His passion for helping people was reignited, and he credits them for inspiring his confidence to try again.

He graduated with honors and now works as a traveling respiratory ICU therapist. He is currently in a bachelor's program and holds advanced credentials as a Pediatric Neonatal Specialist and ECMO (heart, lung, and bypass). He gives back to his profession by serving as the vice president of the Wisconsin Society for Respiratory Care.

His former instructor Theresa says it has been amazing to see Dustin's progression from his time in the program to now working as a colleague. She says that while she doesn't get to see patients directly, she still feels connected through graduates like Dustin, who are in the field exemplifying what the program stands for.

Dustin says that graduating from CVTC's program, ranked as one of the top 10% in the country, is a great source of pride, and he wants to show students what they can overcome and accomplish.