The new Highlander Healthcare Club launched at Baldwin High School this year, with the mission of providing interested students with opportunities to learn about professions in the medical field.  

The club, sponsored by science teacher Stephanie Neal, is being led by junior Bethel Emmanuel.  

“I mainly founded the club because I want to be a nurse in the future, and I know that there are a lot of students involved who are interested in the healthcare field,” Emmanuel said. 

Learning about healthcare job opportunities in high school would be beneficial to many students, Neal said.

“When it comes to the medical field, there are a lot of questions that kids don’t know the answers to in high school, and if they’re thinking about these paths for college, it’s something to learn,” Neal said. “Bethel came to me, and had a bunch of other kids who wanted to have something in the building that was geared towards learning about medical professions.”

Emmanuel hopes that by learning about the different specialities a doctor can pursue or the duties of a nurse, students will have a better understanding of which fields interest them. But students also can learn about other job opportunities in the medical field.

“My vision was to try and give students the ability to expose themselves to the various career paths, besides being a doctor or nurse,” Emmanuel said. “You can work in a hospital without needing to be specifically a doctor or nurse. You can work in different roles for the hospital while still being in the hospital environment.”

Junior Kiera Pierre was one of the first to learn about the club and is one of Emmanuel’s biggest backers.

“I wanted to support her in any way that she needed me to. I’ve been friends with her since fourth grade, and she truly deserves all the success she has gotten with the club,” Pierre said. “She is so passionate about healthcare, and it is definitely shown within the club.”

In addition to learning about the various healthcare fields, the club demonstrates its support for the community.

“We made hygiene kits for the homeless shelters. We called them comfort kits because of the winter season,” Emmanuel said. “We raised all the money to get the items, and at our last meeting, we actually made the kits together.”

The club meets biweekly to discuss how the medical field is managed and how to advance in the field.