NATCHITOCHES – Northwestern State University’s Cenla campus in Alexandria hosted about 125 high school students from Rapides and Avoyelles parishes who explored career opportunities in nursing, allied health, radiologic sciences, social work, psychology, addiction studies and EMT/paramedic.
The Healthcare Academic and Career Exploration (ACE) project is funded by a grant from The Rapides Foundation. Faculty from NSU, Central Louisiana Technical Community College and Acadian Companies engaged with high school juniors and seniors to raise their awareness about the high demand for healthcare workers in central Louisiana, including fields such as mental health and community wellness.
Students from Alexandria Senior High, Bolton, Rapides, Pineville, Tioga, Marksville, Bunkie and Louisiana School for the Agricultural Sciences participated in the Jan. 31 event at no charge.
Upcoming ACE events are set for students from Winn, Catahoula and Natchitoches parishes.
Information on Healthcare ACE is available at https://www.nsula.edu/healthcareace/ or by contacting the program’s executive director Steven Gruesbeck at sgruesbeck@nsula.edu. Information on NSU’s CENLA campus is available at https://www.nsula.edu/CENLA/.
Tioga High School students Dylan Thomas, Andrea Acuna and Carson Cloud participated in a collaborative activity using Legos to create a calm and supporting environment, a skill applicable to the field of mental health counseling. The three participated in a Healthcare Academic and Career Exploration (ACE) event hosted by Northwestern State University.
