Hands-on learning sparks healthcare career exploration in Traverse City

This story is part of a series recognizing the work being done through Grand Valley's Division of K-12 Education Innovation and Scholar Success Impact 30 grant .

High school students from Northern Michigan gathered at Grand Valley's Traverse City Regional Center this week to explore healthcare careers through hands-on learning.

The experience was part of "Hands-On Health: Rural Student Engagement in Health Sciences," an Impact 30-supported initiative designed to expand access to healthcare education and career exploration for rural and charter school students.

Students rotated through experiences in public health, physician assistant studies, athletic training and medical laboratory science, practicing CPR, exploring anatomy tools and engaging with healthcare technology.

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"People know what nurses and doctors do, but they don't always know all the other opportunities healthcare has," said Shannon Owen, director for Grand Valley's Northern Region. "We want students to recognize that they can stay here, complete these programs here and give back to their communities here."

The showcase brought together students from Greenspire High School, Traverse City High School, Traverse City St. Francis and North Ed's Career Tech Center to explore healthcare pathways available in northern Michigan.

"What stood out to me most was public health," said Lily, a freshman at Greenspire. "I didn't realize there were so many different careers connected to it."

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Organizers said the initiative responds to growing healthcare workforce shortages throughout rural northern Michigan.

"There is a huge inadequacy of healthcare providers in rural areas," said Terry Bacon-Bagley, associate dean for research in Grand Valley's College of Health Professions. "The research shows that if you educate students from rural communities in rural communities, they stay there."

Impact 30 funding helped provide transportation and healthcare training equipment that expanded access to hands-on experiences for students at The Greenspire School, a Grand Valley-authorized charter school, supporting both the showcase and outreach efforts within local schools.

Students spent the day practicing medical skills, exploring healthcare technology and moving through college learning spaces that many encountered for the first time.

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For some students, the showcase introduced new possibilities. For others, it reinforced that a future in healthcare can begin close to home.

"The showcase made the possibilities more realistic to them," said Nick Jackson, a pathways teacher at Greenspire High School.