HENRICO COUNTY, Va. -- Tonya Maryland-Goodlet is adamant about both passing her knowledge on to young people and giving back to the community.
The Virginia Commonwealth University graduate owns and operates the Any Lab Test Now location in Short Pump. There she puts her medical sciences degree to work by helping people take control of their health and inspiring children to explore the world of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics).
"When it comes to educating young girls and boys and being that role model, I take that very seriously," Maryland-Goodlet said.
She opened the Short Pump lab in December 2020.
"Right in the heart of COVID," she said. "It was difficult because of the pandemic, but we persevered."
In her lab, Maryland-Goodlet and her team offer direct access to more than 8,000 different kinds of lab tests for patients.
But she also passes her knowledge on to young people, knowing it can open up a whole new world to them.
She hopes to inspire them to explore the medical sciences field.
"A lot of young kids are interested in science," she said. "It feels good to have a platform and have them come in and learn how to draw blood and learn the theory behind blood drawing and medical science. It feels good to have that door to open to give to the community."
Maryland-Goodlet and her team also plan to offer externship opportunities to students to learn more about a field that set her on the path to success.
"Anything is possible," she said. "You just have to have that go-hard mentality and you have to have that drive to do it and it can be done."
Do you know about a good news story happening in your community? Click hereto email WTVR.com and the CBS 6 News team.
