Seven students from the College of the Canyons medical lab technician program will take part in a pinning ceremony Thursday at 5:30 p.m. in the patio area of the Dr. Dianne G. Van Hook University Center.

Inspired by the traditional pinning ceremonies that honor the college’s graduating class of registered nurses each semester, the event marks the completion of the students’ training and their advancement into this essential, but often overlooked, branch of the medical health-care industry.

Students graduating from the program will receive an associate in science degree in MLT and be eligible to sit for the national certification exam needed in order to receive licensing from the California Department of Health Services Laboratory Field Services Branch.

The college’s two-year MLT program prepares students for employment in a variety of these settings, through an integration of program curriculum, classroom lectures, student laboratories and clinical training activities, which help to foster a development of the analytical and problem solving skills required to work throughout the industry.

In recent years, COC MLT program graduates have gone on to start careers in a variety of different healthcare settings, working for organizations and agencies including: Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital, Quest Laboratories, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, Verdugo Hills Hospital, and a variety of other settings.

“Our program model is ‘saving lives behind the scenes,’ and that’s exactly what these graduating students will now be able to go out and do,” said Cynthia Dorroh, dean of Allied Health & Public Safety at the college. “It is an honor to be able to recognize these hardworking students — who will now be included among the college’s first MLT graduates.”