With the need for first responders always high, Texas State Technical College will showcase two programs filling that need statewide.

The inaugural Allied Health Program Highlight for high school students will be held from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Friday, April 29, at the TSTC campus in Brownwood. Faculty members from Emergency Medical Services and Vocational Nursing programs will lead hands-on activities for high school juniors and seniors.

“We wanted to give our high school students the chance to see what our allied health programs are all about,” said Daniel Martin, TSTC’s director of student recruitment in West Texas. “Our instructors will provide some great hands-on activities for students.”

One of the highlights of the day will be students visiting the Immersive Interactive lab used by EMS students. TSTC is the first college in the state to use the virtual reality technology to train students.

The Immersive Interactive lab, which allows instructors to create a broad range of environments from pre-hospital to the emergency room in order to prepare students for stressful and demanding real-world situations, is available at TSTC’s Abilene, Brownwood and Harlingen campuses.

TSTC Paramedic student Daniel Ortega was one of the first students to be part of a virtual exercise. After his team completed the scenario, it provided him with a different aspect of his training.

“This will really teach us more about safety. It is so lifelike being in the scene,” he said. “We will have to notice the little things when we respond.”

High school students will have the opportunity to participate in CPR and nursing skills training from instructors in Breckenridge and Brownwood.

Vocational nursing is available at the Breckenridge campus, and current and former students say it has been a good place to learn from qualified instructors.

“This experience was amazing. It is everything I expected and more,” said program graduate Kelly Nelson. “I learned so much, and that is thanks to the instructors and the people I work with in clinicals.”

Lunch will be provided for students. To register, visit https://sforce.co/3iIx5PF.

For more information about TSTC, visit tstc.edu.