YUHSD Glance
Health Sciences Day connects with students
Nearly 200 of the top academic performers from around Yuma County gathered at Cibola High School Nov. 7 for the University of Arizona Health Sciences Day to hear, first hand, the wide number of options available in the health sciences program at the university.
UA Yuma Regional Academic Programs Coordinator Tanya Hodges hosted the event, which has taken place annually for nearly a decade, in partnership with “Friends of Arizona Health Services.”
“The intent is to grow our own doctors and nurses and health professionals,” Hodges said. “We realized a few years ago that there is a big disconnect between what the students needed to know about the process and the degrees and what they needed to do to prepare themselves to be competitive in the marketplace in competing for these high-profile type of programs.”
Yuma County is the only county that UA participates in this type of informational event, which gives students an opportunity to meet current students and representatives from the Colleges of Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy and Public Health; learn what classes should be completed in high school to prepare for a career in health sciences; find out about activities that could help boost acceptance in one of the most competitive fields at the university; learn about future job opportunities in the medical field in Yuma; and more.
For Cibola junior Mariessa Madrano, the presentations gave new insight. “I wasn’t very aware of the public health degree or the medical areas, but had mostly gotten info about nursing and pharmacy,” she said. “An event like this shows that the university actually cares about you and wants you to have the best information possible.”
GRHS FFA team finishes in top 20 at nationals
The Gila Ridge High School Future Farmers of America chapter recently competed for national recognition in a career development event at the 91st National FFA Convention & Expo in Indianapolis, Indiana from Oct. 24-27.
FFA members on the team, which finished 18th in the Agriculture Communications competition, included Hailey Clinger, Katie Rubida, Daekyn Brown and Annie Sulpizio along with their chapter advisor Danielle Duran.
Gila Ridge English teacher Katelyn Larson worked with the team leading up to the competition, and prepared the members with the skills needed to compete.
“Considering they’d never had experience with this particular form of writing, these young women took it by storm,” Larson said. “They came to learn, and tried new techniques with a positive attitude. Gila Ridge FFA was also challenged at the event, and forced to adapt what they knew to something that earned them 18th place in the country. I’m extremely proud of how hard they worked, and how willing they were to step up and represent Arizona FFA.”
Duran added: “Words cannot express how proud I am of this Ag Communications team. The dedication and work ethic they demonstrated to learn new skills showed throughout the competition. I am very excited knowing what a bright future these students have ahead of them.”
Agricultural communications is one of 25 career/leadership development event areas, covering jobs skills in everything from communications to mechanics. The four-member team is challenged in all areas of the agricultural communications field. Participants attend a press conference, utilize information gathered in a team activity and complete individual practicums in design, electronic media and writing areas. Students are also tested on editing and other communication skills.