The latest local news, weather and high school sports from the Heartland

MILAN, MO -- Hundreds of students from around the Heartland filed into the Milan R-2 High School gymnasium Thursday morning to learn about careers in health care.

The Sullivan County Memorial Hospital hosted the event, titled the 10th Annual Health Care Career Day. More than 200 high school students from Brashear, Green City, Linn County, Grundy County, Newtown-Harris, Milan, Novinger, and Princeton listened to a variety of area health care professionals talk about their career paths. The professionals present included pharmacists, laboratory technicians, RNs, Therapists, Dentists, Physicians, and Marketing professionals.  The students also heard from representatives of seven local colleges talk about the different areas of study they offer. The colleges present included AT Still University, Hannibal-LaGrange College, Indian Hills Community College, Moberly Area Community College, North Central Missouri College, Truman State University, and the University of Missouri. Also present was the Army National Guard and the NEMo-AHEC.

Organizers said the fair helps students interested in health care professions plan ahead.

"We want to give them the opportunity to hear these speakers talk about why they picked their choices of career paths and this helps the students pick curricular, pick classes, know that they may need to be focusing on math, focusing on science," said Martha Gragg, the CEO of Sullivan County Memorial Hospital.  "It gives them an opportunity to do job shadowing later at a facility of their choice."

Students said they found the career fair to be really informative.

"It's a really great thing to have going on. There's lots of students and every year there's more. I think it's a really good opportunity for the kids because if they didn't have this, who knows, the kids may not have known that they want to go into healthcare," said Hannah Scott, the President of Milan High School's Health Occupations Students of America.

"There are a lot more opportunities that I didn't know of," said Edgardo Gonzalez, a Sophomore student at Milan High School.  "There's just other jobs available-more than just the obvious ones like doctor or nurse that I didn't know of. "

After Thursday's career fair, Gonzalez said he is going to look into becoming a lab technician because he said he likes computers and working with students. Scott said she already plans to go to University of Missouri-Columbia to study Biology. She said the career fair helped her learn about opportunities to attend Med School at A.T. Still University.

Organizers said there is a huge shortage in the healthcare industry. They hope that many of the students in attendance Thursday will choose to one day become health care providers right here in the Heartland.  The next Health Care Career Day will be held in October at the Milan High School.