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 accom

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