This is my second rewarding summer Externing in the Talent Acquisition Dept at St. Alphonsus! I am building on the work I did last year–creating presentations and hands-on activities that will be utilized in the recruitment of high school students into future healthcare careers. In this role, I assisted in developing a scenario-based activity to educate students about the different roles within a hospital and the materials explaining the pathways to achieve those careers. My other major project is helping to create a presentation and classroom materials for Idaho Connect’s CTE instructor’s conference in early August.

In June, I was given the unique opportunity to attend Idaho Workforce Development’s Experiential Learning Summit at Boise State, which included in depth discussions with attendees from state-wide industries and colleges. Other experiences have included: participating in interviews for internal scholarship applicants; touring the maternity and surgical departments to learn about and observe surgical roles; and creating school district information resources for recruiters to share with potential adult hires in SW Idaho and Eastern Oregon. I have also assisted with employee appreciation events, including the St. Alphonsus service awards luncheon, and bringing the candy cart to employees in different departments.

During the school year, I teach 8th grade Science and the 8th grade AVID elective, which focuses on college and career readiness. This summer has furthered my understanding of healthcare pathways to promote to my students, which is especially important as they will be creating their own 4-year high school planners, which often include college preparatory and CTE courses. Another focus for all my students this coming year will be to discuss and model career ready attributes, such as soft skills and professionalism in the workplace.