Are you soon to be a junior or senior? If so then you still have the opportunity to take a class at the Arlington Career Center (ACC). Here you can take advantage of the many classes and programs that can benefit you in the future.  You can earn elective credits (for fine-or-practical arts).  Some courses such as Animal Science and Forensics count for a second biology/life-science credit!  Last but not least, the ACC staff is great and always willing to help out their students by offering professional certification programs and internships too! I would definitely recommend checking out their options because you just might find something that could get you ahead for college before graduating high school. 

Last year I took Physical Therapy/ Sports Medicine and passed with reasonable grades, ended up receiving a perfect attendance award, a plaque for being the most skilled, and by the end of the year all my classmates and I were certified in CPR for infant, child and adult and first aid. I learned how to evaluate athletic injuries, reformation of rehabilitative exercise programs, and taping. One of my favorite units was first aid and massage therapy, which we started after spring break. It was fun learning the techniques. At the end of the unit, students get to choose who they’d like to bring in and massage for the final test.  You might think it sounds easy but it was a challenge memorizing the strokes for each section of the body in their right order.

This year I’m taking Emergency Medical Technology (EMT). This is a college-level course that is a two-year program, yet at the Career Center you learn everything within one year. This may sound overwhelming, but really it’s reasonable as long as you show up and do the work. I look forward to going everyday because I go during the p.m. session from 1:40 to 2:40 and it never feels like a class. In the beginning you’d think everyone would be shy and quiet around each other but fortunately we had a good start. We all became really close within the first few weeks of school, like family; because you see one another everyday. Plus our teacher, Doug, is hilarious and outgoing; willing to talk to us about anything. Doug also demonstrates good strategies when teaching us the skills we need to know because he shows us in three different ways so it’s easier to memorize the information.

Most of the class is lab work, including hands-on activities and working in groups or with a partner. One of my favorite labs was learning how to adjust a patient onto the spine board and perform the initial patient assessment. The rest of the time we have some lecture and notes; which is a great study guide to look over before a test or quiz.  Having no homework or mid-terms is another relief; there are just many projects and competencies you have to complete before the end of class.  For instance, wound care: eye evulsions, protruding objects, how to apply a tourniquet and helmet removal to name a few. At the end of the year if you pass with a C/B or better, you’re qualified to take the state test and become certified as an EMT-basic.

During the course we study many different units, and when we finish certain ones, such as the circulation of blood throughout the heart, we get to go on an open heart surgery field trip at Inova Fairfax Hospital. Another field trip is a trip to the cadaver lab at NOVA. The part about getting up early doesn’t seem so bad since you get to come back to your classroom and enjoy some pizza and a movie.

Overall, the Arlington Career Center offers great opportunities to learn new skills by taking a course you’re interested in to help you in your success for the future. I know it helped me last year and this year I’m enjoying the experience all over again, knowing I can make the best of it by passing with an “A” and becoming a certified EMT before graduating high school and going off to NOVA, continuing to the next step.