Thursday, June 12, 2025
Twin CVTC grads have Mayo Clinic patients doing double-takes
Twin sisters Shawn Collinson, left, and Dawn Gregorich, both 58, of Greenwood, graduated from Chippewa Valley Technical College in different years and work as radiology technicians with Mayo Clinic Health System in Eau Claire.
Patients who have X-rays or scans at Mayo Clinic in Eau Claire may think they’re seeing double.
But they can be assured that their eyesight is just fine. It’s just radiography technicians Dawn Gregorich and Shawn Collinson, 58-year-old twins.
Their DNA and profession are not the only things that bond them.
These sisters live near each other in Greenwood, vacation together and are both graduates of the Radiography program at Chippewa Valley Technical College.
Gregory was the first to make the life-altering decision.
“I was a stay-at-home mom with my daughters and my nieces and nephews. I don’t regret it one bit,” she said. “Being a stay-at-home mom was definitely the busiest time of my life and the most rewarding as well.”
But when her daughters went to school, she decided to take medical terminology and Microsoft Office classes at CVTC in Neillsville.
“I thought if I could do those two, I might get the bug, and that was all it took,” Gregorich said.
She began her education at CVTC in 2008 and graduated from the Radiography program in 2011.
Gregorich came to her decision to go into health care honestly, as did her sister. As Gregorich said, “Health care was definitely in the future for us.”
Many women in their family have chosen the nursing profession. But Gregorich said she wanted something different.
“Radiography is where I ended up, and I’ve never looked back,” she said.
Then it was Collinson’s turn.
She was working in a factory when her sister started classes at CVTC. Collinson was curious, asking questions of Gregorich, and the answers piqued Collinson’s interest. But she wasn’t confident she could do it.
“I had a 2.7 grade point average when I graduated from high school,” Collinson said. “The only thing I figured I could do was factory work because I did not apply myself. But I had worked in a factory for 19 years … and I wasn’t getting anywhere. I wasn’t happy.”
She took a test to learn about her areas of interest, and not surprisingly, health care rose to the top. So, she got the gumption, took her first algebra test and failed.
“I knew that was my sign that I didn’t belong here,” she said. “But God said, ‘You can do this,’ and I ended up going to Student Central to get extra help. I ended up graduating from CVTC with honors.”
Collinson started her CVTC journey in 2018 and graduated in 2022.
But that was just the beginning.
Gregorich started her new career at the former HSHS St. Joseph’s Hospital in Chippewa Falls, but the on-call schedule was grueling. She left that position in 2017 for a spot on the Mayo Clinic Health System team in Eau Claire.
“I don't tell people, ‘Hi, my name is Donna, by the way, I'm an identical twin,’ I just don't do that. I never think about it,” Gregorich said. “So, my boss said, ‘If there were two of you, I would hire the other one, because your work ethic is awesome,’ and I'm like, ‘Oh, thank you. Now I'm going to hold you to that.’ ”
Gregorich explained that she has a twin who was finishing up her degree from CVTC. Months later, Collinson applied for the position and was hired in the same department. The women have been working together for three years, and they are loving it.
“We don’t ask our boss to put us on at the same time,” Gregorich said. “We’re just colleagues like everyone else. But people do a double-take and we’re like, ‘Yes, we’re twins.’ ”
