The imaginations of area youth were recently sparked with ideas of what they want to be when they grow up, primarily in the healthcare industry. A representative with the Central Louisiana Area Health Education Center (AHEC) spoke with children at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Center earlier this week, as part of the center's "Go for the Gold" summer enrichment and recreation program.

"We mainly want to let the students know the different careers available to them in healthcare and how important it is to plan for their future," Jan Schmitt, a project coordinator for AHEC, said, speaking to a group of local kids on the many different careers that are offered in the healthcare industry.

"The best paying jobs in Louisiana are in healthcare," Schmitt said to the students. "There are more than 250 jobs in healthcare and some are unique, such as a medical illustrator. If you want to be an artist, you can draw pictures for medical textbooks and doctors."

Schmitt also noted that in 2003, there were 11,000 healthcare-related jobs that went unfilled in the state of Louisiana. She gave the students valuable advice on the importance of studying hard now and learning how to make career decisions on their own.

"Math and science are very important subjects," Schmitt remarked to the group. "Especially if you want to get a good job that pays good money. They may be hard subjects for a lot of people, but if you stick with it, they'll get better."

In order to help the students understand different methods to use when researching healthcare careers, Schmitt had them play a game using AHEC career reference books. She called out a question to the three teams of students, and they were allowed a few seconds to use the table of contents and index to find answers.

"It is important to learn how to learn," Schmitt told the students, showing them how to use the reference books. "Nobody can tell you how to go about being what you want to be. But I can show you how to learn that for yourself. This is something that even if you're in third or sixth grade, you can use it for the rest of your life."

In addition to the reference books, Schmitt also told the students of the many resources available to them on the internet, and she even provided the community center with several copies of AHEC reference information on compact discs.

"Even if you don't have someone telling you what classes to take in school, there are books and places on the internet that can help you, but you have to find the information for yourself," Schmitt said to the students. "At Central Louisiana AHEC, we do everything we can to help young people become doctors, physical therapists, lab technicians or whatever. Those professions make good money while helping people to live healthy lives. I just want all of you to know there are places like AHEC that can help you when you're deciding what you want to be when you grow up."

Central Louisiana AHEC is a non-profit health care organization that provides linkages between health career professionals and local citizens, by providing education on health care issues that are prevalent and health career enticement programs. CLAHEC serves a 17-parish area, and programs are available free-of-charge to schools, churches and youth organizations. More more information on available programs, contact AHEC in Alexandria at (318) 443-2855.

The Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Center will continue its weekly summer program through the end of the month, concluding with an end-of-program ceremony on July 27. The "Go for the Gold" program runs from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Mondays through Thursdays and from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Wednesdays.

The community center is also offering other programs for local youth. Kiddy Bingo is held Monday evenings at 5:30 p.m. and Youth Movie Night is at 5:30 p.m. on Saturdays.

Teens are also invited to participate in the center's Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program, which runs Mondays through Thursdays, from 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. and the C.A.P.P.S. program for youth and parents, which is held every Thursday from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m.

For more information, contact the center at (337) 238-3271.