A Life-Changing Education: Career and Technical Education at Milton Hershey School
By Maya Garcia, MHS Sophomore
I was touring Milton Hershey School as I was entering my freshman year of high school when several large medical CPR manikins caught my eye. To most, they might have seemed like familiar learning tools. But, coming from the small town of Oley, Pennsylvania, where opportunities to expand my horizons were scarce, they symbolized something far more significant to me.
I immediately set my heart on the Health Sciences Career and Technical Education (CTE) area—eager to dive into the program’s offerings and absorb as much as I could. The coursework has given me a firsthand look at what the health care field is like: intense, demanding, and full of high expectations. But I love it. The human body is fascinating, and each day I get to be involved in this CTE area reminds me that although it takes a lot of discipline to truly succeed, it’s so rewarding.
My teachers bring a wealth of knowledge to the classroom. Mr. LaRusso was once a doctor and teaches from a place of great experience. He’s accomplished so much in his life, and being instructed by him feels like such an honor. While he’s strict when he must be, he’s also compassionate and genuinely cares about his students.
The CTE classrooms are so rich with tools and hands-on resources that they feel like another character in each student’s MHS story. Within their walls, I’ve learned how to draw the human heart from memory and create a rehabilitation plan for a heart attack survivor. I am looking forward to the dissection units, where I can hold in my hands what was previously just text on a page. With the opportunity to earn 27 college credits and nine industry-recognized certifications before graduation, I feel prepared for whatever direction my post-graduation journey takes. It’s truly amazing how much is covered within these classrooms and how quickly I’m able to apply what I’ve learned.
At MHS, some student homes are designated as theme homes, where students with similar interests, talents, skills, classes, and schedules are grouped together. I am in the first responder theme home, which directly aligns with my CTE area. I am actively applying what I learn in my Health Sciences classes to the conversations and real-world simulations in my student home and bring those experiences back to my classes, too.
Participating in the CTE program has introduced me to a wide range of career options I hadn’t realized existed. While I’m passionate about helping people, I also have a love for art, and I didn’t want to feel like I had to give that up to potentially pursue a career in health sciences. Medical illustration is a career where I can combine these passions, blending my love for art with the medical field I’m already pursuing. Through CTE, the possibilities feel endless. With the right support and guidance, students can discover a path that fits their unique talents and interests. I want my name to one day mean something, and I know that when that time comes, it will be because the CTE program at MHS helped me get there.
What Health Sciences Has to Offer Our Students
Health Sciences is an amazing program area with so much to offer. Here are some of the ways my program is excelling and raising the bar this year:
- Anatomy in Clay modeling system: Students engage with the body’s structures in a detailed, hands-on way. As they work toward their NASM Certified Personal Training (CPT) certifications, they have the opportunity to build the muscular structures they study in class. This process offers a unique experience for service industry fields like health care. By creating clay models, students can physically see and connect with the knowledge they’ve learned.
- Minecraft patient simulations: Students explore case studies by assessing virtual patients in Minecraft. Since students often have limited hospital exposure, this system was created to simulate a clinical experience. Each student is assigned a patient and must navigate the hospital, interact with health professional non-player characters, learn about various health care careers, and use critical thinking to complete a patient chart.
- Community Emergency Response Team cooperative activity with the Law, Public Safety, and Security (LPSS) CTE area: Each spring, students from the LPSS and Health Sciences areas collaborate with Campus Safety to put their knowledge from Federal Emergency Management Agency Incident Command System certifications into practice. A mock casualty scenario is simulated, and as calls come into the command center, students must work together to form teams, set up triage, allocate resources, locate patients, and provide emergency care. This exercise allows students to practice critical thinking and creative problem-solving skills in a controlled environment.
