72 Nebraska high school students attend conference on behavioral health careers

The Behavioral Health Education Center of Nebraska (BHECN) hosted the 4th annual High School Ambassador Conference in Kearney on April 1-2. The BHECN Ambassador Program recruits and mentors rural students from high school through college and professional school and into behavioral health professions.

The conference builds the behavioral health workforce for rural Nebraska by connecting students with information and resources to explore behavioral health careers. Seventy-two high school juniors and seniors from throughout Nebraska attended the conference. A total of 64 faculty and student facilitators from the University of Nebraska Medical Center, the University of Nebraska at Kearney, and Chadron State College, and providers representing diverse behavioral health and substance abuse professions, presented and interacted with the students.

“The High School Ambassador conference is the beginning of the pipeline in recruiting future behavioral health professionals in rural Nebraska,” said BHECN’s Director, Howard Liu, M.D. “By identifying high school students with an interest in behavioral health careers before they even enter college, we’re able to connect them with faculty and professionals in the field to help mentor them and shape their careers.”

The students are listed below alphabetically by school and the student’s hometown if different from the town the school is located in. The following students attended the conference (pictured left to right in the photos provided):

Albion – Boone Central High School
Ashlynn C. Baker (Petersburg)

Arapahoe – Arapahoe High School
Shelby Kapperman (Holbrook)

Atkinson – West Holt High School
Jessie Mohnsen and Caitlyn Nelson

Beatrice – Beatrice High School
Chaney Behrends

Chappell – Creek Valley High School
Kali Priest and Kelli Sisco

Crete – Crete High School
Miriam Nieto

Curtis – Medicine Valley Jr-Sr High School
Hannah Hosick

Dalton – Leyton High School
Autumn Hartwig

Doniphan – Doniphan-Trumbull Secondary
Baylee Beirow, Jenna Critel (Trumbull), Sidney Rash, Becka Reiners, Rashel Shafer (Hastings), and Bailey Sheets

Elwood – Elwood High School
Tori Wilson

Falls City – Falls City Senior High
Bailey Bindle, Chessanie Blakley, Morgan Bletscher (Rulo), Samantha Harmon, and Darcy Snethen

Fremont – Fremont Senior High School
Sara Hancock and Holly Ludvigsen

Gothenburg – Gothenburg Secondary School
Selena Paredes and Macey Schroeder

Grand Island – Grand Island Senior High School
Lauren Geiger

Gretna – Gretna High School
Samantha Moore

Hastings – St Cecilia High School
Eleanor Ferrone

Johnson – Johnson-Brock Public School
Bailey Johnson

Kearney
From left to right, Mariclaire Prill and Merrilee Prill of Kearney Catholic High School and Tiffany Feddersen, Turner Jensen, Myah Sloane, Elizabeth Thorn of Kearney Senior High School

* Lexington – Lexington High School
Karla Aldana, Guadalupe Chavez, Karina Martinez, and Jacqueline C. Morataya
* The two students in the Lexington photo are Karla Aldana and Jacqueline Morataya. Not pictured – Guadalupe Chavez and Karina Martinez

Lincoln – Lincoln East High School
Aleasha Jay

Mead – Mead High School
Kaylee Carlson (Ithaca), and Delaney Vaccaro (Fremont)

North Platte – St Patrick’s Jr-Sr High School
Emily Parker

Oakland – Oakland Craig Senior High
Ben Ward (Craig)

Pierce – Pierce Jr/Sr High School
Breane Hoffman, Annie Houska, Kati Krueger (Stanton), Derek Ross, and Mariah West

Randolph – Randolph High School
Maggie Gall

Shelby – Shelby – Rising City High School
Natalie Wingard

Spalding – Spalding Academy High School
Kate Hartley

Springfield – Platteview Senior High School
Addison Goerl, Rylan Mahoney (Omaha), and Allie Merrell

St. Edward – St Edward High School
Dalanie E. Welch

Syracuse – Syracuse Dunbar Avoca Public Schools
Anna Kastens (Otoe), Cheyenne Lowman (Avoca), and Kim Lowman (Avoca)

Valentine – Valentine High School
Kayleen Whipple (Crookston)

Waco – Nebraska Lutheran High School
Hannah C. Douglas (Omaha)

Weeping Water – Weeping Water High School
Jenny Clymer (Elmwood) and Lauren Gjerde (Avoca)

Wisner – Wisner-Pilger High School
Emma Kuchar and Macey Starman

Wood River – Wood River Rural High School
Jessica Rauert and Kota Schroll

York – York High School
Shianne DeLeon and Haley Juranek

Yutan – Yutan High School
Samantha Butler and Cody Stevens

The Behavioral Health Education Center of Nebraska (BHECN) was established in 2009 by Legislative Bill 603 to improve access to mental health and substance abuse services, commonly referred to as behavioral health services, for all Nebraskans through development of a skilled workforce. It is a unique partnership among the state legislature, academic institutions, and community partners to create a statewide workforce solution for the shortage of licensed behavioral health professionals. In partnership with Region 5 Behavioral Health Systems, BHECN sponsors a free job search website, www.NebraskaBehavioralHealthJobs.com for both employers and job seekers. For more information, visit www.unmc.edu/bhecn.