Singing River Hospital recognize CTE Program students at graduation ceremony

High school students from Gautier and Pascagoula who completed the nursing career technical program were recognized at their own graduation.

Singing River Hospital in Pascagoula held a graduation ceremony for the seniors from the Pascagoula-Gautier School District who completed the allied health career and technical education program.

By their senior year, these students have already earned the credentials to become a certified nurses assistant or a phlebotomy technician or both! Pascagoula High senior Leandra Ruic said, “I’m feeling very excited and accomplished because it was a lot of hard work and a lot of time spent. And we had to manage our time greatly, especially me taking college classes plus this. It was a lot of work, but I’m super excited and proud of myself.”

Once these students are 18, they will be able to start working in the health field. Director of CTE Derek Read wanted a program that gave students choices. “This is an opportunity for them to not only to go to work and now they’ll have a choice of two different areas, but later on, as we do with adults sometimes, we want to continue our education, they’ll always have that option.”

In 2019, the Pascagoula Gautier School District added a third year to its allied health class. This would require students to attend clinicals at Singing River Hospital. Gautier High senior Katelyn Coleman said, “Once we got here, we were able to start this senior year, we got to actually interact with patients and see what actually goes on behind the doors of the hospital.”

For Coleman, this experience helped her realize nursing was right for her. “Oh, it definitely did. Because seeing the patients and how they react when somebody comes in the room and when they get good news, it definitely changes your aspect on everything in life.”