MARYSVILLE — Jaime Howat, 17, is a senior at the Marysville-Getchell High School Bio-Med Academy. She’s also a Running Start student at Everett Community College.
Question: What are you studying or hoping to study?
Answer: I’m working toward my nursing degree. I almost have my prerequisites done through Everett Community College, and then I hope to just complete Everett’s nursing program because they have a pretty good program and it’s close to home to save money and everything. Then I want to get my bachelor’s through UW Bothell.
Q: What inspired you to want to be a nurse?
A: I’ve know that I wanted to be in the medical field for a while now. It’s always been a big interest of mine. There’s a lot to learn and I love learning that kind of information because it’s really interesting. I figured that nursing would be a good option for me because there’s so many different things you can do with a nursing degree and so many places you can work at. I just love learning all of that information. It’s so much fun.
Q: Is there anything you’re hoping to specialize in as a nurse?
A: Right now, I think that right off the bat I want to work in the emergency room or intensive care or something like that, just so I can get a lot of experience that way and it will open up the field a lot more. Then maybe I could transfer to the neonatal area, which is the babies’ area when they’re first born. Or maybe pediatrics, too. I was thinking about that.
Q: Can you tell me a little bit about what you do as a volunteer?
A: I always volunteered throughout freshman and sophomore year, but I didn’t really get into it until junior and senior year. I started volunteering at NOAH (animal shelter) consistently, every week the summer of my junior year and throughout my entire last year. That was really fun because I love animals a lot. I also did little things here and there, a few things a month. I helped out at the Marysville Food Bank and at Quil Ceda Elementary School, which is where I went to elementary school, too.
I did the Providence high school program last summer. I did that every week throughout the summer and I worked in the children’s center. I worked with kids that had disabilities with learning or speech, and you just kind of play with them and interact with them.
I did Camp Prov through that same program, which is a week-long summer camp for kids with disabilities and you have your own little camper you go around with and do different things with.
Q: You’ve done some job shadowing. What was that like?
A: My last job shadow was in the fall. I have a family friend who is a nurse and she works at one of the Everett Clinics and she does day surgery, so I got to be in the operating room with them and watch all these different surgeries. They were all arthroscopic surgeries, so they use this little tiny camera so it was really cool to see. I basically followed her around and spent time with all the other nurses there to see what they do when they first come in: how they set up for surgeries, and how they help the doctors and talk to the patients and interact with all these different people, and the things they’re looking for in patients when they first come in. That’s really important. That was a big experience because I’d never done anything like that before, so it was really cool to actually be in the setting.
Q: Was there anything that surprised you?
A: They weren’t crazy surgeries, so that didn’t surprise me. But I didn’t expect the doctors to be so out there and energetic. I expected doctors to be more stand-offish, but the doctors I worked with were really friendly.
Q: Do you work?
A: Yes. I worked first as a lifeguard and at the (Marysville Pilchuck) pool for almost two years and that was a good experience for me because I got all my CPR training and I got to work with little kids all the time. That’s kind of what made me want to work with kids. It was a really good first job. I got a lot of experience that way. Then about a year ago I decided to get a new job and now I work at a produce stand near here.
Q: What other activities do you do? A: Another thing that I do is National Honor Society. I’ve been involved in that the past two years. I did ASB (student government) freshman and sophomore year. I was the sophomore class representative for Bio-Med. For hobbies, I work and I like to go to concerts. That’s one of my favorite things to do. I love music. It’s one of my favorite things. And I like to read and write. Those are my hobbies.
Kari Bray: 425-339-3439; kbray@heraldnet.com
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