On Thursday, May 9, the eighth annual ECHO (Exploring Careers in Health Occupations) Academy Awards were held at the shining new Performing Arts building at Kern Valley High School. Parents, supporters and students all came together to put on a potluck with a festive Hawaiian theme.
Honorees, teachers, families and guests ate dinner while Power Point and DVD presentations made by ECHO students of their classes and community activities played on a large screen. Tom Cormack, lead ECHO instructor, served as emcee, introducing Principal Dr. Jeanie Brachear, who lauded the students and teachers, then spoke about the beginnings of the ECHO Academy.
 ECHO seniors, left to right, Amanda Davis, Amanda Kirkpatrick, Brittany Granados, Ashely Tjaarda, and Brianna Daulley, look at graduation gifts at the 8th Annual ECHO Awards Night May 8 at Kern Valley High School’s Fine Arts building. |
Community participation and support are what make the ECHO Academy thrive. Cormack said the partnership between the Kern Valley Healthcare District, the community and the ECHO Academy is very strong and he is proud of the alumni who are employed at Kern Valley Hospital. Two graduates have recently become practicing RNs and three alumni are currently working in Alaska.
Throughout the evening, many partners, parents, teachers, alumni and community volunteers were duly honored. Joyce Norris of Thomas Refuse Service, Shannon Ritchie of the South Fork Women’s Club, Jeanette Rogers of Kern Valley Healthcare District, members of the ECHO Booster Club, parents Hector and Sandra Alvarez, and alumni Heather Allen and Suzannah Carroll were all given framed certificates of appreciation.
Cormack presented Vickie Stacy, EHCO career specialist, organizer and tutor extraordinaire, with the 'Heart and Soul' award. Students cheered heartily as she accepted her plaque.
The junior class awards were the highlight of the evening. This is the first year that CERT (Community Emergency Response Training) has been added to the ECHO Academy’s curriculum.
Tom Klein and Dean Ott, former paramedics and local CERT instructors, received recognition from their dedicated and grateful students. Kary Hernandez and Christina Poelking presented them with lovely wooden plaques they made themselves.
'[Ott and Klein] are amazing people who have helped us through CERT the past months,' Hernandez said. 'They’ve taught us so much, from spineboarding to splinting to just so much more, it would be a list forever.'
Every one of the juniors enrolled in CERT passed their test and have now become the very first Student Emergency Response Team (SERT) in all of Kern County, ready to help save lives in the event of a disaster.
The new SERT members are: Tiffany Allen, Josh Anderson, Trisha Burns, Stan Crawford, Cassie DeGroot, Kelsey Dennison, Star Fleet, Akira Fisch, Alvin Dobbs, Kevin Huffsell, Crystal Harmony, Kary Hernandez, Ashley Martin, Vanessa McNeal, Rebecca Norris, Jerry Olson, Christina Poelking, Thomas Register II, Catherine Serruti, Will Sherman, and Nicole Smith.
Each SERT member was given a CERT pin and backpacks filled with PPE’s (Personal Protective Equipment), donated by Michigan State University.
These 21 students will no longer act simply as accident victims during the Academy’s yearly bus crash disaster drill. 'Next week, we’re going in as SERT members, not ECHO students,' DeGroot said proudly. 'We’re wearing our hard hat and our goggles and everything else.' DeGroot said she looks forward to getting more awards and recognition next year.
Seniors who attained their C.N.A. licenses included Rebecca Christian, Brittany Granados and Ashley Tjaarda. James Crawford, Randy Kirby, Steven Marcy, Ashley Orem and Michael Turner will take their C.N.A. final exam next week. 'We are confident that they will pass their tests,' Cormack said.
Nestor Alvarez, James Crawford, Steven Marcy and Michael Turner were honored for completing their EMT licenses. Alvarez, Amanda Davis and Marcy completed the Medical Terminology course at Cerro Coso. Graduating seniors were given watches as gifts, donated by the Booster club.
All four Academy seniors who applied for college scholarships received $500 to apply toward tuition at the college of their choice. Rebecca Christian, Brittany Granados, and Steven Marcy were presented with huge, brightly-colored checks.
Funds were donated by Thomas Refuse Service, ECHO Booster Club, South Fork Women’s Club, Beta Sigma Phi-Preceptor Xi Eta Chapter, Clinica Sierra Vista and Dr. Holly Spohn Gross.
The Don Reed Volunteer Scholarship was given to Nestor Alvarez, already enrolled in Bakersfield College and taking the Medical Receptionist course at Cerro Coso this summer. Alvarez said he wants to get a head start 'so I can start work faster.'
Comments
No comments posted.