HPAC Scholar's Day 2019 2019 HPAC Scholar's Day Posters | Page 3

Integrating Community Impact into Career Tech Curriculum
Choffin Career and Technical Center
Tanya Bush & Karen Perry
Our Role at Choffin Impact on Student Development
We are the Biotechnology and Allied Health instructors to junior
and senior students. Biotechnology students conduct hands-on
activities in anatomy and physiology, forensic science, cell
biology, disease research, immunology, organic chemistry,
medical technology, environmental science, and genetic
engineering. In a similar curriculum, the Allied Health program
students are taught skills used in improving the well-being of
others using professional medical equipment and techniques.
We understand that one day not only will many of our students
be treating patients, but they’ll directly be impacting the health of
their communities and may play a role in improving the Social
Determinants of Health where they live and practice. Healthy
communities are the essence of what Health Professions Affinity
Community (HPAC) strives for, and we want to teach our
students how to interact with and build such communities. The HPAC program requires students to complete a yearlong
project, from inception to implementation. What seems like a
huge task at the beginning of the year is broken down into
manageable steps, and culminates in demonstrable results,
which are shared at Scholars’ Day, allowing students to feel a
sense of accomplishment. In addition, the HPAC experience
enables students to work with community members, YSU
students and faculty. Many of our previous HPAC students have
attended college after graduation and have reported that the
experiences they had as high school students in HPAC made
the transition to college easier. HPAC students also visit
programs of interest at YSU several times throughout the school
year, and this has helped to focus their career goals, and
provide them with the opportunity to make more informed
decisions about future majors and professional aspirations.
Impact on Program Environment
Working collaboratively in HPAC has allowed students in the
program to develop meaningful connections with one another
early in their junior year. These connections persist through
graduation which sets a tone of empowerment, as they identify a
health disparity and devise a strategy for addressing it. Further,
the HPAC work completed by previous groups provides an
example of what can and has been accomplished in the
past both for incoming Biotech and Allied Health students, and
for all Choffin students. Finally, the networking that students do
with community members throughout the year often yields long
lasting relationships for the students and has, in some
instances, provided them with internship opportunities, and the
confidence to engage with adults who can be resources to them.
Our career tech programs were chosen to present in front of the Ohio Legislature and Board of
Education in March. Above, we are pictured behind Choffin's display.
HPAC Implementation at Choffin
Our programs incorporate HPAC into the curriculum. Students
work in groups, with the support of AmeriCorps members, to
identify a health disparity within the community. They research
the issue, make contacts, and develop a project geared toward
addressing the disparity. Meeting weekly all year, each group
implements their project at some point in the spring. Previous
projects have included a collaboration with Youngstown State
University (YSU) in the creation of a symposium on the opioid
crisis, an anti-violence campaign, which was implemented in the
district, and a bullying awareness program, which was presented
in a local elementary school. This year, one of the major projects
focused on human trafficking. Students worked with YSU to co-
host an informational seminar that aimed to spread awareness
and prevention.
Pictured above, our students not only informed the Ohio legislature of their technical skills, but also of the impact
they're making on our community. They informed them of their work in addressing health disparities by sharing HPAC
posters, pitching their up and coming projects, and explaining past successful project outcomes.
HPAC and Career Tech Goal Collaboration
The goals of the Biotechnology and Allied Health programs include
developing the skills and knowledge students will need to be college or
career ready upon graduation. HPAC has been extraordinarily beneficial
to our students as it enables them to develop a deeper, fully
contextualized understanding of the health issue they choose to examine.
It likewise helps them to develop networking and communication skills,
provides them with meaningful connections to the community, and
enables them to see how they can make a difference in issues they
confront.
The above students were new to Choffin this year as Junior class members. They've become a great
team as they’ve collaborated on a mental health HPAC project aimed at dissolving the stigma. From
social media campaigns to bringing in a licensed counselor to speak (pictured with them above), this
project empowered and connected these students for the rest of their time at Choffin and beyond.