COTC offers workshops to area students

Students involved in the College ASPIRE workshop, Nursing: A Work of Heart!, along with COTC’s nursing students enjoyed a visit from a Survivor Flight team on June 12. Josie Sellers | Beacon

COSHOCTON – Mackenzie Schumaker is fascinated by the medical field.

“When I’m older I want to be a paramedic and be the first on a scene,” said the 14-year-old. “I don’t get grossed out by gory stuff.”

Schumaker was one of several students who spent last week at the COTC Coshocton Campus to learn about medical careers and the education required for them.

“Learning about CPR was really different for me and we also got to learn about how to stop bleeding,” said Jessica Timmons, who is 15-years-old.

She became interested in the medical field after helping her grandfather who had Type One Diabetes.

“He was in a nursing home and I got into helping out,” Timmons said. “I got a lot of good experience.”

The College ASPIRE workshop, Nursing: A Work of Heart!, was one of two programs offered at the Coshocton Campus to students ages 10-13 and 14-18. The second program, Power Up & Go Green!, was taught by Trevor Garretson who teaches at the Coshocton County Career Center.

Students participating in the Power Up & Go Green! workshop show off the wind turbines they made. Josie Sellers | Beacon

“They are learning problem solving skills and about different types of energy sources,” he said.

Jay Fox was enjoying working on the wind turbines the students were getting to create.

“It’s fun,” said the 11-year-old. “I’ve made the highest record so far. My two blade design has the lead.”

Tonia Osborn, special events coordinator for community affairs at COTC, said this is the ninth year for the College ASPIRE workshops. She is grateful for the staff and student employees who make them possible. Osborn added that Toni Trowbridge, admissions representative, has knowledge about the community that helped make things possible for the workshops like a visit from Survival Flight.

Survival Flight has bases in Westerville and Grove City, but flew one of its medical helicopters to COTC on June 12 and landed in one of its parking lots. Students in the College ASPIRE workshop and the school’s nursing program were able to visit with the crew and learn about career opportunities.

“It’s a different environment than working in a hospital,” said local resident Ty Stewart, who works for Survivor Flight. “We have a standard protocol to follow but we can deviate from that if the patient’s care dictates the need to. Nurses (on the helicopter) have to have five to six years of critical care or ER experiences and paramedics have to have five years experience. We (paramedics) learn critical care and the nurses learn what we do.”

Throughout the workshop the young students also were exposed to other medical field career options. Camryn Kaercher, 11-years-old, said she would like to help rehabilitate animals and Riah Fox, 12-years-old, would like to be a veterinarian.

“We do these workshops to give kids the opportunity to be in a college atmosphere,” Osborn said. “We know who the returning kids are and we try to get them in different programs each year.”

Category: Education