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| Noah Jones, who graduated from SCC in May, recently scored a 134 out of a possible 140 on the National Board for Respiratory Care’s licensing exam; it’s believed to be one of the highest scores ever recorded on that test. |
Whether competing in a national quiz bowl or engaging in conversation on a random school day, Noah Jones frequently amazed his Southwestern Community College instructors with his intellect while working toward his associate degree in respiratory therapy.
Just days after graduating from SCC, the Candler resident found another way to impress his professors. On his licensing exam through the National Board for Respiratory Care (NBRC), Jones correctly answered 134 out of 140 questions. He only needed to get 95 right to pass.
A representative of the NBRC refused to divulge the highest grade recorded on the exam earlier this month, but Jones’ dean at SCC suspects “no one has come close to that score.”
“The highest grade I’ve ever heard of was in the 120 range,” said Dr. Mitch Fischer, SCC’s dean of health sciences. "I have been a respiratory therapist for 25 years and have never seen anyone get so high a grade on the wRRT (written Registered Respiratory Therapist) exam. Grades of that nature are just unheard of. Noah is to be commended for his accomplishment."
Samantha Campbell, BSRT, RCP and the respiratory therapy program coordinator at SCC, added: “I am gratified that a student that I had an opportunity to teach and work with was able to achieve such a wonderful milestone. He should be very proud of what he accomplished."
Jones anchored SCC’s “Sputum Bowl” team that won the state competition and advanced to the national finals, where SCC finished fourth overall.
He was also selected to address graduates during SCC’s spring commencement ceremony last month.
“Noah is one of the smartest people I know,” said W. Brent Holland, BSRT, RRT-NPS and clinical coordinator for SCC’s respiratory therapy program. “When I count in my head the members of our profession who I think have changed the industry, or who are going to change the industry, Noah is counted among them. I think that we will see him in the field of research, and he could very well end up being one of the ‘Greats’ in the Respiratory Therapy community.
“His ability to retain information is phenomenal,” Holland added. “However, even when he understands the principle that has been taught, he has a very strong ‘Professional Curiosity’ that makes him want to go further down the rabbit hole to find out each and every ‘why’ to any topic, disease process, and potential therapies that are currently on the market and even those that are not even been dreamt of.”
Upon completing the exam, Jones said he felt it was tougher than the practice exams he’d been taking.
“I’d been doing well on the practice exams, and I was fairly confident I had done well on this,” he said. “I most definitely think preparing for and competing in the ‘Sputum Bowl’ helped. Any extra studying is going to help on any exam.
“The whole program at SCC was teared toward helping us do well on the exams,” Jones added. “Samantha and Brent really spent a lot of time making sure we knew the material. We practiced in class, and they were very instrumental in my success.”
For more information about SCC and the programs it offers, visit www.southwesterncc.eduor call 828.339.4000.
