Bricen Bolsen, R.T.(R)

When Bricen finished his radiography program, he took a full-length practice test and scored a 55. It was a gut check. But instead of just grinding through more questions, he got methodical: spending the next month identifying his weak areas one by one, closing the gaps in his knowledge, and — the part that changed everything — learning how to break down ARRT-style questions.

That last piece is what most students are missing. It’s not that you don’t know the material; it’s that the exam asks about it sideways. Once Bricen could connect what he already knew to what a question was actually asking, the test stopped feeling like a trap. He walked out of his boards with an 89 — and has been determined to help other techs get there ever since.

Bricen trained through the U.S. Army’s radiographer program and has spent seven years taking images in just about every setting there is — the OR, fluoroscopy, pediatrics, the ER, orthopedics, military hospitals and clinics, and even shooting x-rays in a tent in the woods. He entered the Army as a Private and serves today as a First Lieutenant. A decorated soldier, he has earned multiple Army Achievement Medals and Army Commendation Medals along the way.

Here’s what drives him: the Army trains you to do the job, but it doesn’t require you to be credentialed — so only about 25% of Army x-ray techs ever earn their ARRT registry. For the past five years, helping as many of them (and any student) cross that finish line has been his mission.