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High school students study health professions
By Denise Dick
Youngstown
East High School seniors Ali Traish, Reginald Allen and Kendrick Mickel are all considering careers in the health professions.
Their participation in the Health Professions Affinity Community at Youngstown State University, helped steer them in that direction.
Joseph Mosca, dean of the Bitonte College of Health and Human Services, said HPAC is an initiative that exposes high-school students with an interest in health care to the wide array of professions that includes.
The program also aims to increase diversity in health professions.
“When they think about medical fields, they think about being a physician,” Mosca said. “This gives them the opportunity to see more health professions.”
Each month, students from East, Warren G. Harding and Campbell Memorial high schools visit campus and learn about those fields and the careers involved in them.
That includes respiratory therapy, physical therapy, emergency medical technician, nursing, forensics and dental hygiene.
The Friday session covered dental hygiene. Students donned lab coats and latex gloves and learned about the instruments employed in the profession.
Ali has always had an interest in medical professions and dental hygiene piques his interest.
“I’ve been interested in it since I was in middle school,” he said.
Ali hopes for a career he enjoys.
“I grew up hearing, ‘If you love what you do, you never have to go to work,’” he said. “I’m looking for a career that I will love.”
Reginald hopes to be an FBI profiler, so he enjoyed the section about crime scene investigation.
“Figuring out why someone died and how they died will help me in my field,” he said.
A crime-scene condo was set up inside Cushwa Hall at YSU. In the scenario set up for the students, a man and woman had been murdered, and the students had to try to figure out what happened.
“I felt like I was in one of those crime-scene shows like ‘CSI’ or ‘Criminal Minds,’” he said.
Kendrick is interested in physical therapy, and his involvement in the HPAC program solidified that.
“It’s a seven-year program, but it’s worth it,” he said. “There’s a good future in the physical-therapy field.”
Tammy King, associate dean of the college, said the high-school students are chosen by teachers at their schools. The program is funded by a two-year $33,000 grant from Healthway Path of Ohio.
Besides learning about various health fields, the program also gives students time, talking to professors and getting acquainted with a college campus.
A lot of people think, ‘I can’t afford college,’” King said. “Yes, you can. If you work hard and know where to go for help, anyone can get an education.”