CLARKSVILLE, TN − When Shaylan Barber needs to find her purpose, she doesn’t have to look far. Her 2025 American Society of Radiologic Technologists (ASRT) Educational Symposium lanyard now serves as a reflection of her professional journey. Covered in pins exchanged with other students from around the country, it reminds her of her aspirations and why she sought a leadership role with the national assembly.
“It feels like an accomplishment,” said Barber, a senior radiography major at Austin Peay State University. “To come home and see these pins, to remember the people I talked to and all I learned about their states and programs … [they] made me feel like I’m part of something really big and that my thoughts and experiences matter.”
Barber was chosen to represent Tennessee at the ASRT Educational Symposium in Reno, Nevada through the Student to Leadership Development Program (SLDP), which offers education, mentorship, and governance opportunities. She experienced a detailed advocacy training initiative with students from around the country that covered leadership competencies, health policy, and reform issues affecting medical imaging and radiation therapy professions…