Future Caregivers Start Their Journey at MPCC Broken Bow

For three Sargent High School students, a Nursing Assistant class is about much more than learning the skills needed for a job.

It’s a first step toward careers centered on caring for others.

The young men are taking the class at the MPCC Broken Bow Community Campus while still in high school, gaining hands-on experience and discovering what it means to be responsible for another person’s well-being.

Each student has a different vision for the future.

Luqman Harris, a senior at Sargent High School, hopes to become a pharmacist. He plans to attend college and would like to work as a pharmacy technician along the way. For him, the MPCC Nursing Assistant class provides an opportunity to become comfortable working with patients and develop the skills and compassion that will serve him well in a health care career.

Carter Hall, also a senior, knows he wants to become a registered nurse, although he is still figuring out exactly where that path will lead. His motivation for taking the class is simple: he enjoys helping people.

“It gives me joy,” he said.

For junior Yahya Harris, the Nursing Assistant class is an important step toward an even more specialized goal. He hopes to become a CRNA (certified registered nurse anesthetist) and eventually provide anesthesia to patients during surgery.

He recognizes that there is a significant need for nurses and nursing assistants, but he also sees the class as an opportunity to begin building the foundation for his future.

“I’m taking this class because it’s a required steppingstone to what I want to be in the future,” he explained.

Learning More Than the Skills

While the students are learning the technical side of patient care, some of their most important lessons have been about responsibility and attitude.

When asked what advice they would give other high school students considering an MPCC Nursing Assistant class, the students emphasized staying focused.

“It’s easy to get sidetracked, but it’s also really easy to pass if you just pay attention,” Yahya said. “Don’t overwhelm yourself with what’s in the future. Just focus on the task at hand, and everything will work out.”

Another lesson has been even more fundamental: health care is about people.

Luqman talked about the importance of having good morals, treating residents with respect and remembering that the people they care for are depending on them.

“Treat every resident like they’re your family,” Carter said.

That philosophy reflects a level of empathy that can be difficult to teach and is one reason these students have made such an impression on MPCC instructor Kathy Fowler.

A Different Kind of Responsibility

The students also recognize that working in health care requires a different mindset than many of their other jobs.

One works at a restaurant. Another works at a gas station. Another has worked at the school during the summer. Those experiences have taught them responsibility, but they understand that caring for another person carries an additional weight.

“You can’t go into work having a bad attitude,” Luqman said. “You still have to make sure you’re giving the best care possible to make somebody else’s life better. People are depending on you.”

That simple realization captures what these young men are beginning to understand about a career in health care. The work isn't simply about completing a task or showing up for a shift. It is about another person's comfort, dignity and well-being.

Inspiring the Next Generation

For their instructor, watching these students develop has been one of the most rewarding parts of teaching the Nursing Assistant program.

“These young men are an inspiration and have renewed my desire to continue preparing the next generation of health care professionals,” Fowler said.

More importantly, they are learning to look beyond themselves and consider the people they will someday serve.

Wherever those paths lead, they are already building an essential foundation: compassion, responsibility and a genuine desire to help others.