High school students explore health care careers at MSJC

Cooper Smith, Savannah Plascencia and Asia Martinez learned healthcare techniques inside a paramedics simulation truck during the Health Occupation Discover Camp on Jan. 13 at Mt. San Jacinto College.

More than 100 high school students from Menifee and surrounding areas explored careers in health care during the Health Occupation Discovery Camp held Jan. 13 at Mt. San Jacinto College.

“I found this seminar very beneficial, as I hold an interest in one day becoming a firefighter paramedic,” said Cooper Smith, 16, of Canyon Lake. Smith attended the camp with other classmates from Temescal Canyon High School.

The event was organized by a partnership between MSJC and the Inland Health Professions Coalition-Reach Out. Held at MSJC’s Menifee Valley Campus, this event offered a series of hands-on workshops for students from Temescal Canyon and Val Verde high schools.

Asia Martinez and Savannah Plascencia, of Temescal Canyon High, have plans to work in the healthcare field.

“Someday I would like to become a physician’s assistant,” said Martinez, 17, of Corona.” Plascencia currently works as an athletic trainer assistant.

The students participated in activities that involved careers like certified nursing assistants, emergency medical technicians, registered nurses and diagnostic medical sonographers and other related careers.

The camp provided underserved communities with more access to education in the health care fields and inspire the next generation of health care professionals. Students also had the opportunity to engage with MSJC healthcare students and obtain dual enrollment information.

Students perform a nasogastric tube insertion during the Health Occupation Discover Camp on Jan. 13 at Mt. San Jacinto College.