Carrie Eikler, admission visits and events manager, found herself closing the Goshen College Nursing and Public Health Career Day sign-up form for this year after the event received 150 student reservations.
The admissions office hosted high-school nursing and EMT students from all over Indiana at the Westlawn Center for Nursing and Public Health on Friday, Oct. 10. This event pulled in a record number of students attendees.“I don’t think we’ve hit [this number of students] before, but we have been at the 120 mark with nursing events,” Eikler said.
As the events manager, she starts preparing some admissions events six to eight months in advance.
“I start preparing things in the summer, especially for fall events. Schools need a lot of lead time because they have to arrange transportation and get the kids to sign waivers,” Eikler said.
This is the third year of the nursing career day. Last year, prior to Westlawn renovations, nursing staff had to bring transportable equipment to the Church-Chapel Fellowship Hall for demonstrations. In its first year, visiting students sat in on lectures and met with nursing professors.
This year, Eikler and the admissions team were focused on “trying to build up the program.”
“This is the first year that we’re in the [simulation] labs. We’re showcasing the facilities and it’s just really exciting,” she said.
The career day began in the Fellowship Hall where students received a program brief. The majority of student attendees came in large groups from four regional high schools: Wawasee High School, Goshen High School, New Prairie High School and Concord High School. Other students came on their own after learning about the event either from a GC admissions counselor or through routine marketing material from the admissions office.
Students then made their way to Westlawn for rotating sessions in the Westlawn Nursing Simulation Center. The simulation center is equipped with four medical scenarios and five obstetric, or birthing scenarios.
“I mean, they get to see a baby being born!” Eikler said.
Amanda Borden joined the teaching faculty last year as the director and professor of public health. She participated in last year’s nursing career day and noted the differences. During rotating sessions, Borden helped facilitate labs and demonstrations alongside GC students.
“We’ve had other, what you could call career days, but not where we offered demos they could really do,” she said.
Genesis DeSantos, a senior from Concord High School, was one of the attendees. She learned about the GC career day through a schoolwide Canvas announcement. “I want to be a pediatric nurse, and I was like, ‘I need to start somewhere.’ So, I’m getting my CNA license as a way to start,” she said.
When asked about the best parts of her visit so far, she replied, “Oh, the staff! They’re so sweet. And there are so many things to do. And so many new things to learn.”
