My Quest Story: The Marquez Family

These Quest colleagues are proof that being a phlebotomist isn’t just a job, it’s in their blood. 

Meet the Marquez family: The family that sticks together.

Maria Marquez, a phlebotomist, has been working in healthcare for 35 years, and she has spent 25 of those years with Quest Diagnostics. She has always enjoyed being a phlebotomist because she loves making connections with patients and ensuring their blood draws are smooth and painless. Having a positive impact on patients has been her driving force her entire career. 

When her niece, Blanca, started her career in the medical field more than 20 years ago, Maria recognized her own passion in Blanca. Blanca would jump at the chance to help a patient who needed blood work. She was drawn to phlebotomy because of its blend of technical skills and patient interaction. Hearing this, Maria worked on recruiting Blanca to join the Quest team. “I told her of the promising job opportunities at Quest Diagnostics and how rewarding it is to make a difference in many of our patients’ lives,” Maria said. “I encouraged her because she is a caring and very hardworking person.”

Following her aunt’s advice, Blanca joined Quest in December 2003 as an entry-level phlebotomist and has worked her way up the career ladder. She loves serving in a role that cares for patients. “I love that every day I can make a real difference by helping patients feel comfortable and do my part to help them get an accurate diagnosis.”

Over the years, Blanca would tell her two younger sisters, Destiny and Jasmine, how much she loved working with patients and impacting people’s lives, especially patients who were going through a health journey. She also talked about Quest, the culture, and her team. “I would always tell them that one of the privileges of working for a large company is that there's so much room for growth and learning,” Blanca said. When the time had come to enter the job market, Blanca encouraged them to consider phlebotomy as a career opportunity. 

Destiny was hesitant at first, but conversations with her sister changed her perspective. “She told me that blood testing is one of the most important tools doctors have to diagnose and treat patients,” Destiny said. “Physicians rely on us to help them understand what is happening with their patients’ health.”

Inspired by Blanca’s passion, Jasmine and Destiny enrolled in a phlebotomy program together, even practicing drawing on each other while they were students. After they completed the program, both joined Quest in early March 2020. 

Within days of their starting, things went from normal to full COVID-19 safety protocols. While it was scary to start a new career during that time, Jasmine and Destiny say it taught them how to navigate stressful environments and reinforced the vital role of blood work, with every test helping doctors make critical medical decisions. 

For Blanca, she’s proud of her career growth in addition to being a role model to her sisters and others. As a supervisor, she continues to share her two decades of knowledge and help others grow in this profession. “I am committed to guiding my team with care and empathy so we can all come together to deliver the best patient care. For me, it's more than just a job, it's a chance to make a real difference one life at a time,” she said.

Inspired by their aunt Maria’s career, patient care has grown into a shared passion between the three sisters. “Sharing the Quest purpose alongside my sisters makes “working together to create a healthier world” feel even more personal, as we all strive to provide the best possible care for our community,” Jasmine says. 

Are you interested in a career at Quest? Explore our career areas where you will empower better health through our cutting-edge technology alongside creative and innovative people at  http://careers.questdiagnostics.com