By Alan Sorensen
Havre Middle School eighth-graders got a triple dose of medical career encouragement during a school-to-career assembly Tuesday morning.
The three presenters, who all stressed study habits and math and science studies, were Havre physician Karrie Hanson, M.D., emergency room nurse Neil Wiken, RN, and Northern Montana Hospital pharmacist Michael Johnson.
The session began at about 9:35 a.m. and was expected to last about 45 minutes. It lasted twice that long.
Those kids started asking questions, and at 11:15 I said, Hey, were going to have to knock this thing off, HMS guidance counselor Mike Brady said.
Dr. Hanson, the daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Stuart Reynolds and a former HMS student, explained what her formal education entailed. She also outlined her daily routine in answer to a question from the audience.
Wiken, in his turn, told the students his wage, what he had to do to earn his degree from MSU-Northern, and provided them with a litany of different kinds of nursing positions.
Johnson entered the assembly room riding a skateboard and wearing a skateboarding helmet as a means of getting their attention.
Brady said that job shadowing and other school-to-career activities are still in the offing. In the meantime, he said, school officials have already set up their next school-to-career presentations.
In January, we will have three presenters who will be employers who will visit with the kids about what they expect when someone comes to seek a job from them, Brady said.
