Ascension Texas Partners with Project Lead The Way

Ascension Texas recently announced a partnership with Project Lead The Way (PLTW) to empower students across the nation, including local high school students, with skills and experiences that will better prepare them for college, careers and beyond. PLTW is a nonprofit organization that provides real-world, hands-on learning experiences for PreK-12 students, including students in Travis County.

Beginning this fall and throughout the school year, local high school students taking a course in the PLTW Biomedical Science program will work in teams to design and implement a biomedical experiment or develop a product using classic research methods. Students in Austin as well as in Ascension markets Pensacola, Florida, and Indianapolis will participate and present their projects before Ascension associates and clinical leaders serving as judges.

Students will be judged on criteria such as creativity and innovation, research quality, personal demonstration of product or experiment, and collaboration between team members. Top student teams will be awarded Ascension Caregiver of the Future scholarships along with a matching Ascension Healthy Communities award for each of their schools.

“We recognize the importance of preparing more students, earlier, to pursue degrees and careers in healthcare and other high-demand industries,” said Nick Ragone, Ascension’s executive vice president and chief marketing and communications officer, who also serves on Project Lead The Way’s board of directors. “This initiative will enable students to step into the roles of medical investigators, surgeons, microbiologists and biomedical engineers to solve medical mysteries, ultimately better preparing them to explore careers that will innovate and advance the healthcare industry in our country.”

“Providing students with access to relevant career learning opportunities is absolutely critical to the future vitality of our communities and our nation,” said PLTW President and Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Vince Bertram. “Ascension is a leader in innovative healthcare solutions and a tremendous advocate and partner in this important work. We are proud to partner with Ascension to expand access to real-world learning for our students.”

“At Ascension Texas, we are excited to partner with PLTW, and we feel confident this partnership will help students identify opportunities for future careers in healthcare,” said Andy Davis, President and CEO of Ascension Texas. “We look forward to seeing the hard work and dedication of each student at the showcase event in Austin next April.”

Ascension is also partnering with Project Lead The Way to innovate the student assessment experience by developing game-based solutions in ethical reasoning and critical and creative thinking. Leaders in industry and higher education have worked alongside PLTW teachers to design simulations and problems, signaling the criticality of these skills and providing access to relevant career learning and assessment experiences.

To learn more about Project Lead The Way, visit www.pltw.org.