From June 20 to 23, students from across the country traveled to Atlanta for the 2023 SkillsUSA National Leadership & Skills Conference. The annual event is designed to offer students, teachers and entrepreneurs an opportunity to sharpen their skills in a variety of career paths and to display their talents among peers.

Allyson Caddick and Jonny Martinez, recent Hempfield High School graduates, attended the conference with a group of fellow students from Lancaster County Career & Technology Center (CTC). Caddick and Martinez competed in the health knowledge bowl competition during the event with their teammates, Elayna Burkholder and Zackary Lipold.

The health module of the competition was structured similarly to a quiz bowl; the students were asked a series of questions and wrote down their answers to accrue points for accuracy. The competition concluded after two rounds of questions.

Caddick attended Lancaster County CTC during her senior year through Hempfield's dual enrollment program. She met her teammates in the Advanced Health Careers class, where they primarily focused on learning medical terminology and basic health care practices. "(The competition) was a fun way to help us continue our learning and to expand on what we were taught in class," Caddick said.

Caddick and her group signed up for the competition in December 2022 after being encouraged to register by one of their advisers at Lancaster County CTC. The students prepared by convening for regular group study sessions, where they reviewed medical terms from their textbooks and completed quizzes. Caddick said that in addition to helping her retain the material from her class, attending the conference gave her an opportunity to gain more perspective on the career she plans to pursue. "It made me start thinking about what I'm going to do with what I'm learning," Caddick added. "It helped me get into a more professional mindset."

Caddick plans to attend the Pennsylvania College of Health Sciences in the fall to obtain a bachelor's degree in nursing. She has known for many years that she wanted to become a nurse, and she refined her goal in high school to focus on working in labor and delivery. After college, Caddick hopes to acquire a master's degree in nursing and become a midwife. "I love kids and being around babies, so I thought that becoming a midwife would be perfect for me," Caddick said.

Although Caddick has her sights set on studying nursing and becoming a midwife, the conference allowed her to see the diversity of the medical field and broaden her perspective. "That perspective is so helpful as I go into college. Up until that point, I had only been around people who are studying the same things as me," Caddick said. "I was able to learn how to interact with peers in a professional environment."