By Julie Conrey Record Staff Writer Warrenton High School is preparing students for jobs that will be in demand in the future. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projections, some of the fastest job growth will occur in the health care, health care support, construction and personal care fields. Together these four occupation groups are expected to account for about one-third of all new jobs created between 2012 and 2022. Several Warrenton High School students are poised to take full advantage of this trend thanks to the Project Lead the Way, its biomedical sciences program and the students’ involvement with the Health Occupational Student Association (HOSA). Project Lead the Way is a nonprofit organization that began promoting science, technology, engineering and math curriculum in the late 1990s. Warrenton currently offers biomedical science courses and will begin offer engineering courses next year, said Michael Seideman, high school biomedical science teacher. The biomedical science program at Warrenton has just earned national certification by Project Lead the Way, Seideman said. “It’s fantastic. Our kids in Warrenton have the same opportunities as students in Ladue and Rockwood because of this program,” said Jeremy Way, high school principal. “They get a real-world experience in the health care field.” Students participating in this program will have three or more hours of college credit when they graduate depending upon which college or university they attend, Way said. “Not every school has this in the state of Missouri,” he said. Taking what they’ve learned in the classroom and applying it in real life, about 14 Warrenton students competed in the HOSA state competition in March at East Central College in Union. Anna Sutherland and Matthew Russell were awarded gold medals, and Shelbi Aulger earned a bronze medal. The three will compete in the national HOSA competition in Orlando, Fla., in late June. In addition, Russell, a junior, was elected president of the Missouri state HOSA organization. “I’ll be working with students here and communicating with students across the state. We also have to organize a leadership conference in mid-November at Missouri University of Science and Technology in Rolla,” he said. Since the executive committee is spread across the state, Russell expects to do some traveling during his tenure as well. HOSA was founded 38 years ago. Its mission is to promote career opportunities in the health care industry and to enhance the delivery of quality health care to all people, according to its website. Student membership in HOSA is at an all-time high, said Seideman, a faculty co-sponsor of the organization. “HOSA exposes students to real-life experience in health professions,” he added. To prepare for state competition, students chose a medical field in which to compete. There were a variety of events, including physical therapy, CPR/first aid, emergency medical technician, medical spelling, medical photography and forensics. There were guidelines for each event, Seideman said, and students worked with a health care professional who coached them in what they had to learn. Sutherland, a sophomore, competed in physical therapy. “HOSA directed my interests in it,” she said. Sutherland hasn’t looked into colleges, but said she’s interested in pursuing something with physical therapy. Kaitlynn Benfield competed in medical photography. Although the field was crowded — 19 high school and college students competed — she said it was a good experience and beneficial for her college plans. A junior, Benfield is not sure where she wants to pursue an undergraduate degree, but is interested in becoming a neo-natal physician. Alexandria Hitchcock joined HOSA because it was promoted in class and she thought it would be fun to be in a new program. Although Hitchcock did not compete at the state level, the sophomore thinks HOSA is a great program for anyone interested in the medical field. “HOSA looks good on a transcript,” she said. She wants to attend the University of Missouri and go into a medical field, possibly anesthesiology. Jakeb Mayfield was always interested in forensics anthropology, the study of DNA at a crime scene. HOSA has helped him hone his interests in the field. The junior is looking at colleges that offer undergraduate degrees in forensics. Shelbi Aulger, 17, is a member of HOSA and competed in the state competition. She will attend Southeast Missouri State in the fall and hopes to become a forensic pathologist, she said.
HOSA GROUP — Taking what they’ve learned in the classroom and applying it in real life, Warrenton High School students excelled at the HOSA state competition held in March. Submitted photo.
