Edgar junior thrives in Youth Apprenticeship program

Submitted by Edgar School District

Addy Nowak has some advice for her peers at Edgar High School: try the Youth Apprenticeship program. You’ll like it.

“I think they should definitely try it if they want to get work experience,” said Nowak, a junior who is currently working at Aspirus Hospital’s Phlebotomy Department through the program. “It’s a good thing to do.”

The Youth Apprenticeship (YA) program allows students to gain work experience for pay while they are still in high school. They also take courses that relate to their field at the high school or a technical school. Edgar has YA programs in a variety of areas including manufacturing, ahealth care, child care, early childhood education, business administration and IT.

“I know we are very rural but Youth Apprenticeship is not just agriculture,” said Kris Federwitz, the district’s School to Career coordinator who oversees the YA and co-op programs.

There are 28 students participating in the programs this year.

Federwitz said the programs give students a chance to learn firsthand about a field they may want to pursue after school.

“It’s good to learn all aspects of a field no matter what you go into,” she said. “It’s a way to take what you’re learning at school and apply it to what you’re doing on your job.”

The participation of many local businesses makes the programs successful.

“We have amazing community partners,” she said. “We work together.”

Addy began the YA program in phlebotomy after attending a meeting at Northcentral Technical College (NTC) and learning about the shortage of phlebotomists. By getting students involved in high school, the goal is to have them continue to train in the field after high school to ease the shortage.

Kristin Troyer, phlebotomy supervisor at Aspirus and Nowak’s supervisor, said the high school junior is the youngest youth apprentice the hospital has ever had. Troyer said Nowak has a strong work ethic and is always willing to pick up extra shifts when she can.

“She’s doing a fantastic job,” Troyer said. By partnering with the school district in the YA program, Aspirus hopes that some of the apprentices will return to work there after they finish school. Troyer said the program has other benefits as well.

“It’s teaching them the value of work, hard work,” she said. “It’s a great program and it’s great that these kids can get into it.”

There are one-year and two-year YA programs. Nowak, who is signed up for a one-year program, must work at least 450 hours at the business partner per year. She started the program last summer by working at Aspirus and taking a class at NTC.

During the school year, she has to take a career-related class each semester. Last fall, she took chemistry and algebra. This semester, she is taking a class in body structure and functions that is taught at the high school but will earn her dual credit at NTC and the high school.

Federwitz said Nowak has fallen in love with her field.

“She adores it. She loves learning and she loves her classes. She’s going to be fantastic in this field,” she added.

Nowak has been interested in the healthcare field for a while. She works about 20 to 36 hours per week in the phlebotomy lab. One of her favorite parts is working with the patients.

“I like talking to the patients. It’s always fun to cheer people up,” she said.

She started by working day shifts at the hospital where she just did blood draws on patients and sent them to the lab for testing. She has switched to night shifts, which she finds more interesting because of its variety. In addition to blood draws, she has assisted with trauma cases and patients who have had strokes.

Although the work is interesting, it can also be personally challenging.

“The hardest part is seeing kids in the hospital,” she said. “And when you see people who are close to passing and you can’t do anything about it.”

In addition to the YA program, Addy plays volleyball and is a member of the FCCLA (Family, Career and Community Leaders of America) club. She also is part of the Little Buddy program where she mentors a thirdgrade student. “I like to help people,” she says. That certainly shows.

Addy Nowack