Robin Grimm knows what she wants to do with her life.
At 17, Grimm already is planning for a career in nursing.
Though she's still attending Nikiski Middle-Senior High School, Grimm is taking active steps toward that dream by pursuing certification that will get her started in the industry.
Grimm is one of about 15 students on the central Kenai Peninsula taking a certified nurse's assistant class through the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District's Workforce Development Program.
The program, which works with Kenai Peninsula College, offers students an opportunity to take classes leading to industry certifications in a number of fields. The classes provide students with both high school and college credits and often result in the basic credentials needed to get a job.
Though the classes don't guarantee students a job, they often provide a leg-up in students' qualifications.
For example, of the 10 students who took the CNA class last year, nine passed the state licensing test and currently are employed in health care on the peninsula.
"Health care is one of the largest growing employment sectors in Alaska," said Dale Moon, coordinator of the Workforce Develop-ment Program.
But while health care is a booming field, it's not the only one students can pursue through the program.
This semester, the program also is offering a course in Health, Safety and the Environment, which provides students the basic certification they need to enter the oil and gas industry or get a job on a platform in Cook Inlet.
All workers in that industry require that certification, and area employers are more apt to hire a worker who already has taken the class and passed the test than someone the company would have to train, Moon said.
In addition, the program is offering a yearlong CISCO class, which teaches students about computer networking and routing.
The Workforce Development Program is funded through federal Carl Perkins grants the school district receives for vocational education.
Those grants help pay for materials and instructors' time. The instructors then come from KPC to the Workforce Development Center, in the vocational building behind Kenai Central High School, to deliver the courses to high school students.
The classes generally are college level, but students can receive both high school and college credits for the courses. Because the school district pays for the instructors, KPC is able to give students a break on tuition.
A class that would cost a high school graduate upward of $300 in college costs high school students in the Workforce Development Program only $15 a credit.
But just because the classes are cheap doesn't mean they're less challenging, Moon said.
"They are college classes," he said. "They're not dumbed down any. It's the same as you'd get at KPC."
The program is open to all students on the central peninsula, offering industry certification courses in the afternoon and evenings so students have time to travel to Kenai outside the school day.
Moon said the program usually serves students from Kenai Central, Skyview, Soldotna, Nikiski and Kenai Alternative high schools, though some students have come from as far as Ninilchik for the classes.
The classes may not be for all students, Moon said, but they do help those who have the dedication and drive to pursue certification prior to high school graduation.
"It gives them the opportunity to do something out of high school," Moon said.
For some students, that may mean entering the work force immediately after high school graduation. But, Moon said, that's not necessarily the focus of the program.
"The main reason we offer (these classes) isn't necessarily to give students a job," he said. "It's to give them another arena to pursue. If they have the certificate, maybe they can afford to go to college, because they can work part time."
Rachel Lovett, a senior at Kenai Alternative High School who also is taking the CNA class this semester, said a certification may help her follow through on dreams of attending college.
Lovett said she is interested in science and has thought about nursing, forensic science or archaeology as possible careers.
The CNA course is giving her a chance to explore those careers early, she said.
"It's interesting to just kind of explore and see different things," she said.
"I think taking a class while still in high school and getting an idea of what it's like will help me determine if I want to go into the medical field in college."
And, she said, even if she doesn't choose a career in nursing, the class may help her with other dreams.
"A CNA can make right around $12 an hour. My mom (also a CNA) only works three days a week in 12-hour shifts," Lovett said. "If I can make my schedule how I want it, I can take college classes, too. So the schedule is good, along with the money."
Grimm, who is more set in her decision to pursue nursing as a career, agreed.
She said the CNA certification will give her an opportunity to get hands-on training in her field and help pay for college.
"It's nice to get a head start," she said.
