This is something Warren General Hospital wanted to stress to students who attended the Homegrown Workforce Initiative on Wednesday.

The Homegrown Workforce Initiative brought together WGH, Warren County School District and the Community Foundation of Warren County to give 300 10th-grade students from Warren Area High School and Eisenhower High School tours of the hospital.

Students were taught about various different sections of the hospital and the importance of the people who work in them.

Students walked all over the hospital, from the emergency room to Rehab works to respiratory therapy to the laboratory to the pharmacy to many of the students favorite, the maternity ward, where they were able to see a newborn baby.

Warren Area High School 10th-grade students view a patient room on a tour of the hospital.

At each stop, students were informed about the jobs that are done and the schooling needed within the profession. They were then encouraged to ask any questions they may have had.

“We really want to get kids interested in healthcare,” said Chief Executive Officer Dan Grolemund. “It can be so rewarding.”

This is the first year of the Homegrown Workforce initiative, but there is much more to come, including a speaker series, job shadowing, and the possibility of including more students and grade levels.

Kerstin Wyman, Director of Marketing and Communications at WGH, believes the day was successful.

“The kids were really excited and I think we did give a few of them that a-ha moment,” she said.

Some students were able to discover a new interest while others were reassured in career paths they were already considering.

Tenth grade student from WAHS Alyssa Goss shared she is interested in radiation oncology.

“I would really like to learn more about the Cancer Care Center or maybe shadow there at some point,” she said.

Nevaeh Harris, also a 10th-grade student at WAHS, hasn’t quite yet decided on a profession, but she still gained a lot of knowledge on the tour.

“I want to be a lawyer or an animator or maybe a heart surgeon,” Harris shared. “I would really like to help others and save lives.”

WGH plans to work with the Community Foundation of Warren County to provide students interested in working in the area with assistance in education and training.