Northwestern State University's Healthcare Academic and Career Exploration (ACE) program has successfully served over 130 high school juniors and seniors in Allen Parish since its inception.

Steve Gruesback, executive director of Northwestern State University's Healthcare ACE program, recently provided an overview of the program to the Allen Parish School Board, emphasizing the importance of exposing students to in-demand healthcare careers.

Since 2001, Gruesback's work has focused on helping students explore future opportunities in healthcare, whether they pursue a college degree or a certificate program. The commitment is to plant seeds early and often, making these opportunities more accessible and comfortable for students to consider, he said.

"It is really important for us to send the message to students, both college-bound and not college-bound, that there are many healthcare careers beyond just doctors and lawyers," he said. "There are pharmacy technicians, ambulance drivers, and all sorts of healthcare occupations. We are doing our best to plant those seeds and let them know there are lots of opportunities."

The program, which targets high school juniors and seniors, conducts interactive workshops to increase students' awareness and preparedness for various healthcare careers.

"We conduct interactive workshops to teach students what it would be like to work as a nurse, radiologist technologist, social worker, psychologist, ambulance driver, or EMT," Gruesback said. "We believe exposing students to these diverse fields early on can help them consider pursuing healthcare careers. The more exposure they get, the more likely they are to say, 'I think I want to do that.'

NSU hosts six annual programs for students across Central Louisiana collaborating with Central Louisiana Technical Community College (CLTCC) and Acadian Ambulance Service through a five-year grant awarded by the Rapides Foundation.

Allen Parish students are among the nearly 500 students who have participated in the program.

"We've had a fantastic experience with Allen Parish," Gruesback said.

In the first year, over 70 Allen Parish students participated, and last year, 61 students took part in the program including 18 students from Oakdale High School, 8 from Elizabeth High School, 15 from Fairview High School, 9 from Reeves High School, and 11 from Oberlin High School.

Gruesback's goal is to reach 100 students from Allen Parish for the upcoming program to be held Jan. 23, 2026 at NSU's Cenla campus in Alexandria. He encouraged both returning and new participants, especially from Kinder High School, to attend.

While core topics remain consistent, new activities will be introduced to keep the workshops engaging, he said.

Students are divided into small groups of about 15 per faculty member, spending 45 minutes in each of four interactive workshops exploring career options in healthcare.

Gruesback said since 2001, his work at NSU has focused on helping students explore those future opportunities.

"We believe it's crucial to show them the wide range of careers available in healthcare, whether they pursue a college degree or a certificate program right out of high school, and regardless of where they choose to study CLTCC, Acadian Ambulance Service, Northwestern or Louisiana Christian University (LCU)," he said. " It's vital to convey that healthcare careers extend far beyond doctors and lawyers to include roles like pharmacy technicians and ambulance drivers. We are committed to planting these seeds early and often, so these opportunities are on their radar and they feel more at ease considering them."

Allen Parish School Board Career and Technical Education Supervisor of Kim Rider, reported positive feedback from students and counselors, noting that the program welcomes all students, not just those with a defined career path.