MRI program helps athletic trainer get unstuck
As a high school athletic trainer, Chad Whiteneck covered it all — freshman, junior varsity, varsity, and even junior high sports.
After 14 years of nights, weekends, and holidays spent on the field or the road without extra pay or promotion, he was exhausted.
“I wanted growth, advancement, and more opportunity to use my skills in a bigger way,” he said.
Whiteneck often referred injured athletes for X-rays, so it was no surprise he considered San Jacinto College’s imaging training.
“Everyone I knew in the medical field who had done anything in imaging had gone to San Jac,” he said.
When he was ready to pivot, he turned to the place that could get him unstuck: San Jac’s new magnetic resonance imaging program.
Trainer pains
“If I knew what worked, I did it,” he said.
That curiosity led to bachelor’s and master’s degrees in exercise and sports science and a long career in athletic training.
Although Whiteneck loved helping athletes, the long hours and limited advancement left him feeling stuck. With flexibility and a strong job market, imaging offered a path forward.
“What would it take for me to pursue the imaging world? It was automatic — San Jac,” he said.
The radiography program’s hands-on training and on-site clinical instructors sealed his decision. In fall 2022, he enrolled.
Short-term sacrifice, long-term payoff
Transitioning wasn’t easy. Whiteneck took a pay cut and worked weekends as a hospital imaging patient care assistant while taking classes full time on weekdays.
“I was way overqualified for this position that didn’t require a degree, but I had a plan,” he said.
He appreciated San Jac instructors’ attentiveness in class and during clinical rotations.
“When you walk into a hospital and see students from San Jac, you see a huge difference,” he said. “They learn so much more here. San Jac has a clinical instructor at every site — that’s extra teaching moments.”
If you see an opportunity for growth and advancement, go for it…. Don’t ever feel too old.
After completing his radiography training in May 2024, Whiteneck returned for the new MRI advanced technical certificate program in spring 2025.
“I didn’t want to go online or teach myself,” he said. “I stayed with San Jac — it was worth the wait.”
Despite less sleep and more hours away from home, he saw every challenge as a short-term sacrifice for a long-term payoff. His survival strategy? “Lots of coffee.”
Renewed future
Whiteneck is proof change can happen anytime.
“I am my younger self,” he said, laughing. “If you see an opportunity for growth and advancement, go for it…. Don’t ever feel too old.”
In September, he landed an MRI technologist position. This month, he graduates and looks forward to more time with his 1-year-old daughter.
“I want to be more available to her,” he said. “Maybe she’s not going to see me as an athletic trainer, but she’s going to see me more.”
Whiteneck thanks San Jac for helping him get unstuck and his wife Kelli and faith for supporting him every step of the way. While juggling the program, work, and family were challenging, the reward lies just ahead: a fulfilling career and renewed family life.
“My faith played a vital role in this journey,” he said. “I believe each part — the timing, the challenges, and the milestones — has been guided by God.”
