On Nov. 1, students involved in the Health and Society program’s Senior Seminar for Health Professions and the Health & Healing Career Channel met for conversation and lunch with several local healthcare professionals. During the event, the community partners spoke passionately about their motivations for entering healthcare, the challenges and rewards of the field, and their respective career trajectories. Students were able to ask questions during the interactive session and speak in detail over lunch.

With professional areas spanning social work, mental health counseling, public health education, nursing and medicine, students learned that there are pathways to careers beyond the traditional healthcare professions. Senior Angelo Buff noted, “I hadn’t realized what exactly social work is until now, and a lot of the classes [one of the guests] took to get here is exactly the kind of stuff I’m already interested in.” Other students had similar observations. Jade Mosquera, an aspiring pharmacist, was surprised by the connections to her future career. “I had a great conversation with a nurse who happened to work beside an ER pharmacist, which was ironically one of the fields of pharmacy I am very interested in pursuing. She had told me how essential it is to have an ER pharmacist on their team.” Another student, Maddie Moser, offered insight that sums up the importance of such events for many impending graduates. “As a senior this year, hearing the paths of all these wonderful women was extremely nerve-easing,” Moser said. “College can be stressful in your last few years because there is a pressure to know exactly what your next steps are going to be. All of the professionals reassured us that each person’s path can present itself differently and still lead to a successful outcome. Their insight and advice was greatly appreciated, and I am thankful that Beloit Channels was able to make this happen.”