CHHS kicks off Health Career Connection program

The first cohort of the new CHHS Health Career Connection program will come to campus in June. As part of this exciting new program, 12 exceptional incoming freshmen will earn six credits during the summer I session.

Students will live in residence halls on campus and take classes for the duration of the summer I session. The College of Health and Human Services provides scholarships to cover tuition, books, room and board for the students.

“These 12 students are truly exceptional,” said Nancy Cretsinger, director of academic and student services at the college. “We interviewed many remarkable individuals as part of the selection process for this first cohort. The students in this group have achieved great things academically, and many of them have overcome great challenges to do so.”

The Health Career Connection program is aimed at economically disadvantaged students from areas of the state that are medically underserved. Eligible students live in the 19-county catchment area of the Western Regional Area Health Education Center (AHEC), which is housed in the college.

When Dean Earlie Washington announced the program last year, she talked about a similar program that she was a part of after she graduated high school. 

"That program was all about foundational learning; but it was also more than that. It introduced us to higher education," she said. "The program was geared to show us how to give back to the communities and systems that supported us."

The ultimate goal of the Health Care Connection program is to return CHHS graduates to their home communities as well-trained health care professionals, improving the diversity and availability of health care in regions of the state that need it most.