CollegeQuest is Vermont’s First Health Career Enrichment Program for High School Seniors

“CollegeQuest to Health Careers” is a FREE, six-week summer residential program that will give a competitive advantage to Vermont students interested in a career in health care. The deadline to apply is March 28.
http://www.vermontjournal.com/content/collegequest-vermont%E2%80%99s-first-health-career-enrichment-program-high-school-seniors

CollegeQuest is Vermont’s First Health Career Enrichment Program for High School Seniors
Submitted by VT Journal on Wed, 03/21/2012 - 10:38am



SPRINGFIELD, VT - “CollegeQuest to Health Careers” is a FREE, six-week residential program that will give a competitive advantage to Vermont students interested in a career in health care. CollegeQuest will be held at the College of St. Joseph in Rutland, June 24 – August 3, 2012.
This innovative new program is for students between their junior and senior years of high school. Participants will be introduced to college life and engaged in an array of learning experiences that offer both academic enrichment and career exploration. Activities range from hands-on learning in a lab to touring colleges that offer health careers training. Students will learn skills used in the mental health, primary care and pharmacy professions. In addition, eligible CollegeQuest participants who complete the program will earn money for college.
Application to CollegeQuest is open to Vermont residents who are from modest income households or who would be the first in their family to attend college. “We encourage interested students from Southern Vermont to apply.” says Tammy Mellish and Beth Brothers, coordinators of the Health Careers program at the Southern Vermont Area Health Education Center (AHEC). “Health careers are among the fastest growing occupations in Vermont. These jobs offer competitive starting salaries to college graduates.”
CollegeQuest to Health Careers is sponsored by the Northeastern Vermont AHEC and the Vermont AHEC Network, through a grant from the federal Health Resources & Services Administration’s Health Career Opportunity Program.

Applications are available by mail or can be downloaded from our website at www.nevahec.org/health/149.html. Acceptance to CollegeQuest is competitive. For more information about eligibility, or to receive a copy of the application packet, please contact Tammy Mellish, tmellish@svahec.org. The deadline to apply March 28.
About the AHEC Program
Established in 1996 by the Office of Primary Care at the UVM College of Medicine, AHEC is a dynamic, academic community partnership linking the UVM College of Medicine and Vermont’s communities in all fourteen counties. In collaboration with many partners, VT AHEC improves access to quality health care through its focus on workforce development. The statewide AHEC consists of a program office at UVM and three regional centers which are 501(c)(3), non-profit organizations: Northeastern Vermont AHEC in St. Johnsbury, Champlain Valley AHEC in St. Albans and Southern Vermont AHEC in Springfield.
The National AHEC Program was developed by Congress in 1971 to recruit, train and retain a health professions workforce committed to underserved populations. The AHEC program helps bring the resources of academic medicine to address local community health needs. The strength of the AHEC Network is its ability to creatively adapt national initiatives to help address local and regional health care issues.
For more information about projects and programs of the Southern Vermont AHEC, please visit www.svahec.org.