Western Technical College

   The theme for this year’s Health Matters Summer Camp held at El Paso Independent School District’s (EPISD) Center for Career and Technology Education and sponsored by the Borderland Area Health Education (AHEC) was childhood diabetes and obesity.  Physical Therapist Assistant (PTA) Program students from Western Technical College (WTC) participated in the summer camp to share insights on  diabetes and obesity, study opportunities at WTC, and the physical therapy field in general with 50 high school students from West Texas, including Brewster, Culberson, El Paso, Hudspeth, Jeff Davis and Presidio Counties.    Richard Flores, Director for the PTA Program at WTC, gave a short lecture on obesity trends and provided information on PTA training and the career field. WTC students also participated by giving testimonials on their experience so far in the PTA program and classes at WTC.

   Director of the Borderland AHEC, Marcy Brooks, says “I think this camp allows youngsters to gain insight into educational opportunities in our community. I invited Richard Flores to lecture here today, because he shares with our students a perspective on the whole career field from the doctorate level to the PTA Program at WTC.”  Tony Ramos, who assisted Brooks with the camp, says “it is critical for high school students to be exposed to the multifaceted medical field. We want to attend to all types of students. Some will go on to trade schools and some to universities, but we hope that they are successful in the medical field. Camps like this one help students gain perspective about possible career options.”

   PTA students who also spoke at the camp include Fermin Chavez, who shared with high school students “the program at WTC is hard. I’m not going to lie, but it is definitely worth it”, and another student who spoke, Jerry Armendariz, agreed about the challenging classes and added, “but this occupation is perfect for me, because to me there is no greater reward than helping others.”  In accordance with the theme of the camp, childhood diabetes and obesity, PTA students helped each high school student learn how to calculate their BMI (body mass index) to expound on the premise of the camp “Health Matters.”