Jump Start: First Response
The Porterville College Career Education Division hosted three Summer Jump Start Academies this past month, giving Porterville area high school students a first-hand look at some of the career pathways available at PC.
These Academies, intended for High School Juniors, ran from July 8 through August 1.
These Summer Jump Start Academies were designed as stand-alone four week project-based internship programs focused on in-demand careers in Tulare County. They provide a curriculum designed specifically for incoming Central Valley high school seniors (current juniors) with an interest in learning more about careers in Hospitality, Technology, Health and Safety. The classes run from 8 am until 1 p.m., 4 days a week, and the students get paid to participate in most cases.
This year’s Academy has been expanded to include an FAA Part 107 drone pilot course as well as a Culinary Arts Program which provides OSHA-10 Certification.
In the First Responder Academy, PC Kinesiology Instructor Benjamin Walkowiak students about the different career paths open to them in the medical field. This includes EMT, paramedics, flight medic or nurse, search and rescue, police, or the fire department. Or “Any situation where people are arriving on the scene and helping with care of a person before going to the hospital.”
He said many of the students are interested in helping people, but they don’t know enough about the medical fields to decide which direction they would like to take.
With this training they get their Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) certification before finishing high school.
In the class they learned American Red Cross CPR, AED, and first aid, and will receive a Red Cross certification for CPR that’s good for two years. It will help them feel more comfortable in a situation where they have to perform CPR or use an AED to save someone’s life.
They also learned about choking and the Heimlich maneuver, how to use an EPI pen for allergic reactions and how to use Narcan for opioid overdose.
Various medical professionals visited to speak to the class, and Walkowiak said he hopes the experiences in class will help students feel comfortable in the possible scenarios they will face in the future. “It takes a special person to be in the medical field”, Walkowiak said.
The class also took multiple field trips to expeience industry partners at work first hand. They also received a visit and a demonstration from REACH Air Ambulance on the PC campus.
Alexea Rojo Andrade from Summit Collegiate High School says the CPR class was “hands-down one of the best interactive classes that I have ever had the chance to participate in! lt’s filled with continuous hands-on activities, like working with CPR practice mannequins, and taking trips to various places.”
‘’Coming into the program I had few ideas of what I wanted to pursue as a career, but thanks to this program, after learning more about health career paths I am extremely interested in working as an EMT’.”
PC’s Jump Start Summer Camp is made possible through a regional partnership between PC, West Hills College Lemoore, College of the Sequoias, and Reedley College. The program, which began on July 8th is taking place on the PC campus through August 1.