AT THE forefront of shaping tomorrow’s health care leaders, the HH Lincoln Health Student Advisory Board is turning aspirations into action for local high school juniors and seniors, one student at a time.
The Student Advisory Board, now in its second year, has become a positive and prestigious opportunity for high school juniors and seniors aspiring to carve out careers in the health care industry. Spearheaded by dedicated professionals like Emily Schultz, the staff development coordinator, and Mary Beth Seals, the president of HH Lincoln Health, this initiative is more than just an extracurricular activity — it’s a launchpad for the next generation of health care heroes.
With a tone of pride and optimism, Schultz shared, “This is our second year having a Student Advisory Board here. It is composed of juniors and seniors from the three high schools in the county: Fayetteville High School, Lincoln County, and RCA.”
Right now, there are 19 students on the board. The board not only offers these stu-dents a glimpse into the health care world but also immerses them in it.
“The purpose of the board is to expose students to different aspects of health care,” Schultz said. “We want them to see differ-ent jobs within the health care system, both clinical and non-clinical.”
Through visits to various departments, and interactions with department leaders, staff members, and even physicians, the board facilitates an in-depth understanding of the health care sector.
Schultz excitedly added, “We’ve had physicians and department directors make presentations to the students and have roundtable discussions for the students. This allows [them] to see how we all have different backgrounds but share a passion for helping patients. They have also visited some of our other facilities, such as EMS and the Patrick.”
One of the board’s significant achieve-ments, as highlighted by Schultz, is its suc-cess stories, like that of a young lady who, after participating in the program, won a scholarship to attend a radiology tech pro-gram and was immediately employed at the facility post-high school. “It’s an amazing experience, even though it’s just been two years, to watch them grow up,” Schultz said, emphasizing the program’s impact on students’ lives and career paths.
Mary Beth Seals underscored the collective effort and the community spirit that powers the Student Advisory Board.
“I want to say about this program that it was very important to me that we get in-volved with students again across our community,” Seals said, ensuring that the credit is shared with the staff who have poured their hearts into the program. She further commented on the students’ enthusiasm and the broad exposure they receive, which is integral to the initiative’s goal: fostering a long-term relationship between the students and the local health care community.
“The staff here try to make them a part of something different each time, so that whether they want to pursue something clinically, or whether they’re going to get into the business side of health care, they maybe have seen it all by the time they’re ready to finish their junior year or graduate, and I’m really loving that for them,” Seals said.
She said their health care system also benefits in the long run by exposing stu-dents to health care.
“After the program, hopefully, these students stay in the community and come back [to be] part of our health care team here in the long run,” Seals noted. “That’s what we hope to show them. And even if not, we hope they’ve had a good exposure and a good experience, and we’ve started their journey in a very positive light.”
Both leaders emphasized the impor-tance of community engagement and the program’s role in revitalizing health care interest post-COVID.
“We’re exposing them to health care. We’re very involved with CNAs again — students who are getting that certification. It’s been re-ally great to see people involved in health care again in our community,” Seals reflected on the significance of such initiatives.
The HH Lincoln Health Student Ad-visory Board stands as a reflection of the power of mentorship, education, and com-munity engagement in shaping the futures of young individuals. Through hands-on experiences, mentorship, and scholarship opportunities, the program prepares stu-dents for careers in health care and instills in them a sense of belonging and purpose within their community.
As these students embark on their jour-neys, they carry with them the knowledge, ex-periences, and connections made through the Student Advisory Board, ready to contribute to the health care industry and, by extension, to the well-being of their community. GN
