Gettysburg Area High School (GAHS) rising juniors and seniors recently stepped into the world of healthcare through the WellSpan Career Exploration program, where they gained hands-on experience in clinical skills, emergency response, and patient care practices.
By choosing to dedicate a week of their summer break to the program, students engaged in meaningful, career-focused learning experiences that provided direct insight into healthcare and the many pathways within it.
With career interests in nursing, emergency medicine, nutrition/food, physician, and dermatology, rising junior Jymiere Anderson participated in the opportunity because he enjoys “helping others and finding new discoveries to further educate” himself.
For Anderson, the experience made his interest in healthcare grow exponentially.
“Being able to hear from the professionals really helped me decide that I would love to work with people and help them as much as I can in the future,” Anderson said.
Throughout the week, students participated in interactive sessions led by WellSpan Health medical professionals, including hands-on instruction in essential emergency response skills such as Stop the Bleed techniques.
For rising junior Ariana Cosden, the experience had deeper roots since her grandmother, aunt, and other relatives are registered nurses, and she admires what they do. Cosden’s career interests include medical imaging, pharmacy, and physical therapy/occupational therapy/speech therapy.
“My interest did grow. I now know more about what I wanted to do before and now I am interested in a career in the (cardiac) cath lab,” Cosden said.
Students also had the opportunity to learn from experienced healthcare professionals, including GAHS Class of 1992 graduate Dr. Stefan Rosenbach, who shared his journey in emergency medicine and guided students through a suturing exercise. His presentation offered students a personal perspective on the demands, responsibilities, and rewards of a career in medicine.
Rising senior Mahi Shah said she enjoyed the tour and the hands-on experiences like suturing a banana most. Shah expressed an interest in medical imaging, pharmacy, psychiatry, and anesthesiology.
“My interest in healthcare grew from that experience because it answered a lot of misconceptions that probably could’ve held me back from pursuing healthcare as a career,” Shah said.
Shah said it was important to give up a week of summer vacation for the experience “to explore more about what I might want to do in the future as a career and take more opportunities to learn.”
GAHS Principal Jeremy Lusk praised the 20 students who participated for their commitment to exploring future career pathways.
“We are incredibly proud of these students for choosing to spend part of their summer engaged in such a meaningful learning experience. Opportunities like this allow our students to move beyond the classroom and gain authentic exposure to the skills, expectations, and possibilities within healthcare,” Lusk said. “We are grateful to WellSpan for their continued partnership in supporting student exploration and workforce readiness.”
WellSpan representatives emphasized the importance of early exposure to healthcare careers and the value of hands-on learning in preparing future professionals.
“Programs like this give students a meaningful, firsthand look at the wide range of opportunities available in healthcare,” said Rosenbach, emergency medicine physician at WellSpan Gettysburg Hospital. “By engaging directly with our team members and gaining hands-on experience, these students are building both confidence and curiosity about their future. We are proud to partner with Gettysburg Area High School to help inspire the next generation of healthcare professionals and strengthen the pipeline of talent in our communities.”