CCBC Student, Radiation Therapy
CCBC’s radiation therapy program helped Brearne turn a calling into a career shift.
Brearne Butts seemed destined for a career in hospitality. With a bachelor’s degree in hospitality and tourism, a natural gift for putting people at ease and a job offer in hand, he was set. But instead of taking the expected path, he returned to his hometown of Baltimore to follow a different calling: a career in health care.
“During college, I worked at a hospital and really enjoyed it,” he says. “But I was already in my senior year and figured I’d stick with hospitality. After graduation, I found out my mom was sick and wanted to be close to her.”
Back in Baltimore, Brearne found a health care job at the Maryland Proton Center, where they use targeted beams to treat cancer and other diseases. One day, he randomly came across a job opening for a radiation therapy assistant. He applied, got the job and quickly realized he had found his path.
“Assisting and working alongside radiation therapists from day-to-day made me realize that I wanted to do what they were doing,” says Brearne.
To advance to a radiation therapist role, he needed to go back to school. Fortunately, many of his coworkers, including his director, had the same advice: apply to CCBC. The college offers the only radiation therapy program of its kind in Maryland.
At CCBC Essex, Brearne is gaining the clinical experience, lab skills and academic knowledge needed to deliver precise radiation treatments. The program also prepares students for certification through the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists and Maryland state licensure.
“The labs give you hands-on experience with various types of equipment, so you’re already familiar with it once you’re on the job, no matter where you go,” he says.
He credits his instructors and classmates with pushing him to be his best. “Each semester builds on the next. They make sure you really understand the material and everyone helps each other out. We’re like a family here because we all go through the same classes together.”
Another benefit of CCBC is that he gets to attend tuition-free through a mix of scholarships, grants and tuition reimbursement from his employer.
CCBC has done a wonderful job making it affordable for me to reach my goal.
Today, he works just blocks from where he grew up, using his skills to support his community with care and compassion.
“I know what it feels like to sit in a consultation room as a family member and not fully understand what’s happening,” says Brearne, who lost his mother to cancer shortly before starting the program. “To be the person who can walk patients and families through the process, explain how radiation works and ease their fears—that means everything to me.”
Although his path once pointed in a different direction, Brearne knows he’s exactly where he’s meant to be.
“I chose CCBC because I knew they would set me up for success,” he says. “And they have.”