YOUNGSTOWN — Ironically, neither Gabriel Mercado nor Alexa Caravella was initially interested in pursuing careers in the health care field, yet they became among the few selected for a new specialized Youngstown State University program aimed at improving health care outcomes.

“My mom was an ER nurse, and she always came home tired and beat up after her shift,” Mercado, of Struthers, said.

Something changed for Mercado, however, when his daughter, Giana, was born. He was attending Ohio University with an interest in psychology, but his daughter’s birth triggered, then fueled, an added desire to help others, perhaps in a more hands-on way.

That priority path led him to apply and be accepted into YSU’s new radiology technology program set to begin this semester, which, along with an accompanying state-of-the-art lab, was celebrated with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and program Tuesday morning in Cushwa Hall.

“I see this as an incredible opportunity, not only for myself, but for my family,” said Mercado, who first enrolled at Kent State University at Salem before becoming a first-year YSU transfer student.

Caravella, of New Castle, Pa., earned a bachelor’s degree in general studies and had worked six years at a day care facility with young children, but applied at the last minute before being accepted into the new program. Her mother, Randi Heasley, a YSU nursing instructor, informed her about it, she said.

“I hope to go into a children’s hospital and be a radiology tech,” Caravella said.

Of a pool of about 150 students who had applied, 20 of them were accepted into the program this semester, Sara Michaliszyn, dean of YSU’s Bitonte College of Health and Human Services, noted.

The program is critical because radiology will play a vital role in meeting the overall local and regional health care needs, partly because the Mahoning Valley has a large percentage of older people, she said.

Calling the university “a ladder of opportunity for students,” Michaliszyn added that the radiology tech program also promises to provide another way for YSU to fulfill its responsibility to the community, be an extra avenue to improve the area’s health care and provide an additional and valuable educational opportunity.

Students who complete the five-semester program and earn their associate degrees, after passing their registry requirements, will have jobs waiting for them, Lisa Galich, program director, said. The students also will conduct a variety of clinicals and hands-on projects in which they will work directly with patients, she added.

Partnering with the effort are Akron Children’s Hospital Mahoning Valley, the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Salem Regional Hospital, Southwoods Imaging in Boardman and Mercy Health, Galich noted.

In addition, the radiology technology program will add another valuable career track to the College of Health and Human Services while helping to fill a local and nationwide need for such technicians. Students can apply immediately after high school and, in a relatively short time, find themselves in good-paying careers, David Bitonte and his brother, Gary Bitonte, said.

The Bitonte College of Health and Human Services was named in honor of their parents, Dominic A. and Helen M. Bitonte.

Also, the program fills a void that had been created when Eastern Gateway Community College closed, YSU President Bill Johnson said, adding that it took a few months to finish the accreditation process.