The Project East program at Jewish Home has immersed 38 East High School students into classroom and clinical lessons at Jewish Home over the last four years as participants in the Aging Services Career Exploration Internship program.
Twelve students were awarded certificates in February for completing the 15-week program, which is designed to educate students about the physical, mental, and psychological aspects of aging — combining classroom lessons with clinical, hands-on practice.
This year’s Project East students learned about a variety of career opportunities, including nursing, human resources, social work, nutrition, physical therapy, and recreational art therapy by shadowing staff, conducting their own research, and experiential learning across disciplines.
As a direct result of this program, several Project East graduates have joined the Jewish Home staff following their high school graduation.
Christine VanVessem, senior vice president human resources and quality at Jewish Home, is a proud graduate of East High School.
“I have an emotional connection to this project and I am very proud we offer this program to students of East High and support RCSD overall,” she said. “I have very fond memories of growing up in the city and attending East, and now we are paying it forward and presenting career opportunities they may not have discovered on their own.”
Project East enables a younger generation to learn about aging services and nursing homes and develop a positive perspective about working with older adults and many careers that are related to a full continuum of care.
Christine Stallworth, who coordinates the program for Jewish Home in collaboration with East High, noted that this year’s Project East group was interested in a wider range of career opportunities, whereas in the past, more than half wanted to explore nursing. This group, however, was interested in a variety of jobs, from sous chef to art therapy.
“The students continue to amaze me,” she said. “They very seamlessly come together and build friendships and relationships and learn to lean on each other and work together.”