As students transition from being underclassmen to upperclassmen, many begin to seek opportunities to gain experience in areas of interest for their future careers. For junior Salem Ehler, however, this process began early.
Once she met with her counselor about curating her four-year plan, she talked about how she’d always wanted to pursue a career in medicine. Her counselor recommended the medical assisting program at Central Nine, and Ehler joined at the start of her junior year.
“It’s just something I’m passionate about,” Ehler said. “And having the opportunity was so nice.”
Central Nine, better known as C-9, is a career and technical education center based in Greenwood. It provides learning opportunities for both high school students and adults in various fields, such as cosmetology, healthcare, automotive construction and information technology. According to instructor Lisa Pfeiffer, students can apply to C-9 through their counselor, and must maintain at least a C average and good attendance.
As someone who has always been surrounded by medical situations, Ehler has always viewed nursing as a career option. Her family are not strangers to health conditions, and her own mother is a nurse. Additionally, she has always had a personal sense of anxiety when faced with medical issues, which has driven her desire to help others with the same experiences.
“That’s just always been so
mething I’ve been passionate about,” Ehler said. “Wanting to help people, help relieve anxieties and fears, help explain things.”
Since she joined the C-9 me
dical assisting program at the beginning of the year, she has gained experience in common medical practices, such as drawing blood, administering shots, calculating dosages and learning about different conditions and medical terminology.
During iPass, C-9 students travel by bus to different schools in the area, where they spend time in a single classroom with a few peers learning about and specializing in the field of their choice. Ehler says that the medical assisting program has a similar amount of bookwork to a regular school class, and in addition includes regular hands-on activities such as physically taking a pulse
after a lesson.
“I just love the ability to get real world experience in something that you’re more passionate about … ,” Ehler said. “ For people who don’t see college as their future path, it can help them to take steps into th
eir career as well.”
Pfeiffer, Ehler’s Medical Assisting teacher, has been a C-9 instructor for around 11 years, and with so much experience, she has seen firsthand what the program can do for students.
“I have definitely seen students grow in social and personal skills along with academics,” Pfeiffer said.
All of this work will eventually pay off through Ehler becoming certified and receiving a medical assisting license by the end of this year. She hopes that this could give her an advantage in starting her career early on out of high school.
“I’ve gained a lot of knowledge as well as skills in the medical field, and going on I can … be able to work in a doctor’s office and get that experience, those stepping stones, towards my future plans,” Ehler said.
