Our Town Teens Archives - Page 4 of 7

TAs equipped to lead at Richard Yoakley

Josh FloryMay 1, 2019Our Town Kids, Our Town Teens

On a recent morning at the Richard Yoakley School, teaching assistants gathered in the library for a twice-a-month meeting.
Yoakley is a transition school for students who have not succeeded at …

Pellissippi State commencement to honor determined student

Julia WoodApril 30, 2019Our Town Teens, West Knox

Exactly 800 Pellissippi State Community College students will graduate this spring, but there will be one poignantly empty chair at the school’s commencement ceremony Friday, May 3, at Thompson-Boling Arena.
The …

West High School cuts ribbon on Walk of Pride

Tracy Haun OwensApril 30, 2019Our Town Teens, West Knox

The West High School Foundation wants to make sure each of the school’s students has a path to success.
Last Friday, West principal Ashley Jessie was joined by students and foundation …

Dotson to coach wrestling at CAK

Julya JohnsonApril 29, 2019Our Town Teens, West Knox

Marquis Dotson III is the head coach of the high school wrestling team at Christian Academy of Knoxville. Dotson has over seven years of professional experience as a teacher, coach …

West High grad with autism fights for inclusion in UT housing

Betty BeanApril 24, 2019Inside 640, Our Town Teens

On April 10, the University of Tennessee announced a new pilot program “to assess and evaluate the feasibility of access to university housing by FUTURE program students” that will begin …

Klauer, McDaniel get academic honors at CAK

Julya JohnsonApril 19, 2019Our Town Teens, West Knox

Sam Klauer is valedictorian and Cole McDaniel is salutatorian of the class of 2019 at Christian Academy of Knoxville.
Sam Klauer is a scholar-athlete who has accomplished much during his time …

CAK students to present ‘Hello, Dolly!’

Julya JohnsonApril 3, 2019Arts 865, Our Town Teens

Christian Academy of Knoxville has a long-standing tradition of phenomenal full-scale theater productions, and this spring brings one of the most-loved musicals of all time to the area – “Hello, Dolly!”
This …

L&N student wins grand prize in flag design contest

Josh FloryMarch 27, 2019Our Town Teens

When Kassidy Gray heard the theme of a contest to design a flag representing Tennessee, she immediately thought of her grandparents.
A junior at L&N STEM Academy, Gray tapped her memories …

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Something is happening.

The nurses check the patient’s pupils. “They’re asymmetrical,” one reports. Stethoscopes out, they listen to his chest, where they hear an asthmatic wheeze. A few minutes later, they’re administering CPR, taking turns counting and doing chest compressions.

It’s not a real patient, and it’s not an emergency. It’s just a typical day at nursing camp at Pellissippi State Community College.

YouthForce students line up to practice the Heimlich maneuver.

YouthForce, the workforce-development program of the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Tennessee Valley, will bring 60 high school students to Pellissippi State’s Strawberry Plains Campus this summer to experience weeklong Technical Training Camps.

Nursing and welding camps were held June 4-7 while cybersecurity and manufacturing camps will take place Tuesday-Friday, June 18-21.

“We like to make everything hands-on applications of the theory,” explained Andy Polnicki, director of the MegaLab on the Strawberry Plains Campus. “I went to a traditional (four-year) school, and when I graduated and got out into the real world, I realized I only knew a lot of theory. Here at Pellissippi State we spend a lot of time actually applying that theory.”

The goal of YouthForce, which is open to any high school student in Knox and Blount counties, is to expose high school students to skilled trades and to gain first-job skills, explained YouthForce Director Rebecca McDonough. This is the third year YouthForce has held the camps at Pellissippi State.

A YouthForce student works on a project during welding camp.

Decked out in matching scrubs with fully equipped nurses’ kits, the 16 students in nursing camp rattled off all the things they learned during the week, from the medical (how to stop a bleed, how to perform the Heimlich maneuver, how to administer CPR to a baby) to the practical (how to change hospital beds, how to wash their hands, how to put a pillowcase on a pillow without getting it contaminated).

“We got to experience real nurses, and they shared their stories with us,” explained Callie Anderson, a rising senior at Fulton High School. “Them giving us that extra background of what it’s like to be in the nursing field and then all the hands-on skills labs was just beyond my expectations. I’m so appreciative of this program.”

As nursing instructor Jennifer Priano started to walk a group of students through how to deliver a baby on the SimMom, an advanced full-body birthing simulator, Auna Campbell could not contain her excitement.

“I watch labor videos all the time! People think I’m weird, but it’s really interesting,” said Campbell, a rising junior at West High School. “I want to be a nurse, and I know what I need to do, but I need guidance to know what classes to take and to keep me on the right path because labor and delivery takes a whole lot of schooling. This camp this week helps a lot.”

Downstairs, the 14 students in welding camp showed off what they’d learned how to make this week.

Tashaun Patrick, a rising junior at South Doyle High School, shows his football number he made with a plasma cutter during welding camp.

“This was my first experience with welding, but it’s really cool,” said Tashaun Patrick, a rising junior at South-Doyle High School. “I love the plasma cutter. It’s just the most amazing thing. I made my football number and put it on a post. Today I took these random parts and made an eagle. We’re making a lot of cool stuff that you wouldn’t make in a typical high school class.”

Patrick noted he enjoyed welding camp so much that he plans to make welding his back-up plan if a sports career doesn’t work out.

“This has been all you want in a summer camp,” Patrick added. “We’ve been learning and having a lot of fun doing it.”

For more information about YouthForce, visit www.bgctnv.org/youthforce. For more information on Pellissippi State, visit www.pstcc.edu or call 865-694-6400.

Julia Wood is director of marketing and communications for Pellissippi State Community College.