Ohio Teen Institute Camp
Mental health is a hot topic these days and we always have students interested in pursuing a career in the mental health field. Hear how students and agencies from Washington County are working together to help our community and assist students in gaining valuable experience:
The Washington County Behavioral Health Board and BB2C are partnering to develop local career pathway opportunities in the mental health field and work with schools to implement mental health prevention activities in all local high schools in Washington County. Six students from three local high schools attended the five day Ohio Teen Institute (OTI) at Heidelberg University the week of June 10th. Maria Pfaff, Seneca Craven, and Gretchen Lankford from Marietta High School; Chelsi Phillis and Destiny Rone from Frontier High School,and Kaitlyn Stewart from Belpre High School spent the week at OTI with about 150 other school students from various Ohio high schools.
Our students shared they really enjoyed the week and the opportunity to learn leadership skills that they can bring back and use to develop programs in their schools. They participated in region activities, various workshops and “family” time. They said it was really “cool” the way everyone accepted and supported each other at the conference. They enjoyed getting to know other students and hearing about programs and activities currently being offered in various schools from the “families” they were assigned to during the week. They all said they were unsure as to what to expect prior to the conference, but were extremely appreciative for the opportunity to attend the conference and excited about the opportunities they can bring back to our community and schools.
We will continue our efforts with a three day local experience July 29th-31st at the BB2C Epicenter to learn more about local mental health and substance abuse issues, career opportunities in various mental health professions, and develop plans to implement activities in all local high schools. Stay tuned for more updates on those activities and how the students are impacting our community!
-By Suzy Zumwalde