Eighteen new students were a part of the second cohort of students for the Logan County Career and Technical Center’s Health Sciences Career Academy. This is the second year for the Regional Career Academy, made possible by the New Skills for Youth Grant awarded to Logan County Schools.
The New Skills for Youth (NSFY) grant supports the creation of regional career academies to prepare young people for high-skill, high-demand (HSHD) careers with funding from JPMorgan Chase. JPMorgan Chase launched its NSFY initiative in states to strengthen career readiness approaches, giving students pathways to training and education beyond high school.
Two separate induction ceremonies were held this fall to recognize the 18 new students and the 13 returning students to the academy.
ACADEMY STUDENT HIGHLIGHT--Sydney Lee is one of the outstanding young ladies from the first cohort of students from the Health Sciences Regional Career Academy. When Sydney graduated high school, she was only two prerequisites short of being able to apply to the nursing program. She took those two classes over the summer and that made her eligible. She had taken all of the other prerequisites while in high school.
She also had to take a test called the TEAS (Test of Essential Academic Skills) test. This test is designed specifically to assess a student’s preparedness entering the health science fields. Based on the score from that test, her GPA, and her application to the program she was selected as one of the 40 students accepted into the program. Sydney has just finished her first week of nursing school at Southcentral Kentucky Community and Technical College (SKYCTC) in Bowling Green.
Sydney says, “Nursing school is just like everybody says, it’s hard and very time-consuming. My days consist of lots of reading and watching lectures at home. Then on certain days, I have labs, therefore I sign up for whatever time and day that works best for me. The content and work that I have reminds me of my classes at the Logan County Career and Technical Center and the Health Sciences Career Academy. My teachers from the academy, Mrs. Marcy Duncan and Mrs. LaShawnda Lee, made sure that we were understanding the content and making sure we moved through it at a fast pace.
“At SKYCTC, I have several professors which do the exact same thing. So, I feel that I have been very well prepared for my college career.”
Sydney has applied for a Student Nurse Extern at the Medical Center in Bowling Green. This is a new position that allows students to work and learn at the same time. This position will allow her to be able to do the nursing care that she has checked off on in class. Once she graduates, in two years, she will be a Registered Nurse.
Sydney is also taking advantage of the DC to Finish Scholarship through SKYCTC, since she had 9+ hours while at the LCCTC and had a 4.0 GPA in those classes while in high school. The DC to Finish Scholarship provides the opportunity to complete a college degree completely tuition-free. To learn more about it: https://southcentral.kctcs.edu/affording-college/paying-for-college/scholarships/dc-to-finish.aspx