CTC student shares experiences at middle school Career Day
Exposure to any career during a young person’s life can make a difference, regardless if they like the career or not. In most cases, they can learn at that age whether or not they want to pursue that profession from parents, relatives, and/or friends of the family. In addition, school districts at all grade levels are exposing students to various careers and multiple career paths to help students discover ‘what they want to be when they grow up‘ and ways to obtain their personal career goals.
Midland Borough School District is no different in this effort to help their students find their futures. Mr. Curt Frasier, middle school math teacher and Mrs. Erica Guandolo, school counselor, started to conduct an online version of Career Days during quarantine by having various professionals speak to their students online. One of those professionals selected to virtually present was Ms. Theresa Cairns, Beaver County Career and Technical Center’s (BCCTC) Health Occupations instructor. Cairns happens to currently have a former Midland student in her program by the name of Kamden Miller, who at one time, sat in Frasier’s math class. Since Kamden was a former student of the district, she too was invited to speak to offer a student’s perspective of the program and her personal experiences.
“Kamden was a great student that excelled in mathematics during her time in Midland, said Frasier. “She was always so very kind and respectful of her peers and other faculty members while in my presence. It was a complete shock to find that she was in the Health Occupations program at BCCTC! Furthermore, I was encouraged to discover that she was willing to speak to my current seventh and eighth grade students during a recent Career Day that I hosted on Zoom with her CTC instructor. From the information that I received, Kamden has been a shining star in the program, which comes as no surprise to me. I am always delighted when I see former students following a career path, with their ultimate goals for life ahead in mind, and Kamden is certainly no different!”
For junior Kamden Miller, her decision to be in the medical field ended up coming from a young age when she volunteered at Beaver Meadows where her mother, at that time, was a Registered Nurse (RN). Kamden’s plans now? She would like to be a family nurse practitioner. The choice for Kamden to enroll in Health Occupations to start her medical education was an easy one. It turns out that she had full support of her mother as her mother is an alumni of the program and of the program’s teacher, Cairns. Both Kamden and her mom knew it was ‘the next step’ in her education to finish out high school and to prepare her for her college education. “I like how the program is set up like a family,” Kamden says. “No matter what, Ms. Cairns and Ms. Izzie Mitsch, the program’s instructional assistant, are going to help and push you in the right direction.”
When asked what Kamden would say to other students who may have an interest in enrolling in the program, she stated, “I would tell other students that this program is the best way to see if you really want to pursue a career in the medical field. Even if you learn you don’t want to purse a health career, the things you learn will help you in life.”
Cairns, speaking of Kamden said, “Kamden is an outstanding first level student who has tackled the curriculum of Health Occupations with open arms! She has received wonderful evaluations from her Community Health Placement and is a student ambassador for visitors and new students. Her academic achievements along with her caring, kind attitude will allow her to excel as a nurse! But really, this shouldn’t surprise me. Her mother was as equally dedicated and as strong of a student. What an honor to learn that Kamden is one of my second-generation students!”
Speaking of Kamden’s mother, graduate of Western Beaver School District and of Community College of Beaver County’s (CCBC) RN program, 17 years later, she is still working at Beaver Meadows and holds the title, Clinical Manager. She adds, “I would highly recommend BCCTC. It gave me an opportunity to have one-on-one time with patients and to know what it is like to work as a nurse aide and to not forget that taking care of a patient is the most important aspect of being a nurse. Whether it’s infusing an IV or helping clean a patient, it’s all still my job.”
Kamden’s postsecondary plans include to enroll at CCBC and graduate as an RN. Immediately after, she will select another postsecondary school to pursue her practitioner’s registry.