When Kathy Snyder enrolled in the University of Toledo's Liberal Arts College in 1969, she had no clear idea of how she would put her major to use after graduation. While the idea of teaching appealed to her, the daughter of a physician and nurse decided to try a couple of science classes while she considered her options. She was immediately hooked. "I had always been fascinated by biology, such as how the heart pumped blood, but it wasn't until after the class ended that I realized how much I missed not looking at blood samples under a microscope," Snyder said.

She quickly changed majors, enrolling in the school's associate degree program for laboratory technicians and medical assistants. Upon graduation, she began her required internship at a local hospital, St. Vincent Mercy Medical Center, which led to a full-time job in the hospital laboratory. During her 20-year career there, Snyder took on progressively more responsible duties, increasingly exposing her to the responsibilities of the more senior laboratory technologist position. "I started with drawing patient blood samples, but I always asked questions, so the laboratory staff kept giving me extra jobs to do, like separating blood cells from blood serum for serum analysis, calibrating pipettes, measuring urine samples and sending certain samples to reference labs for analysis."

When the hospital reorganized its laboratory operations, creating satellite labs to serve various hospital departments around the city, Snyder was assigned to the outpatient surgery laboratory, where she ran patient blood counts and other statistics, drew blood samples, and even learned how to perform electrocardiogram tests. "I just never wanted to stop learning," Snyder said. "I love all aspects of laboratory science, whether it's taking samples, running tests or checking over results. It just seems like I was meant to do this."

Because of her extensive patient contact at the outpatient center, several years later, Snyder was tapped to work in another satellite group, this time a practice specializing in endocrinology. Two years later, the practice was privatized, eventually becoming the Endocrine and Diabetes Care Center. Because of her extensive knowledge of the group's practices and procedures, and her experience working with patients, Snyder was asked to stay on as the main laboratory technician, reporting to the practice head and laboratory director, Dr. John Brunner.

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