Five Mineola High School graduates also walked away with medical assistant certifications in the first year of the program.

Cindy Robinson, who came from Tyler to help Mineola ISD expand its Career and Technical Education program into medical fields, said the students deserve much credit for sticking with the program after schools were shuttered in mid-March.

That was about the time the program was getting to a very hands-on phase, Robinson explained.

The Wednesday following spring break, she sent out an action plan (which had to be basically built from scratch).

The question was how to continue the program virtually.

And most school districts, she said, did not make the effort to do that.

The students met online via Zoom two days a week and had two days worth of reading assignments to substitute for their 10 hours per week of class time, plus daily assignments.

Robinson said these students had to work particularly hard as it was their first year in the program, and they did not have the background in core areas such as medical terminology.

“This says tremendous things about their perseverance,” she said.

The students received great support from administration, Robinson noted, who made it possible for the students to meet periodically on campus, following social distancing protocols.

All five students will be carrying on with their medical education in the fall as they pursue nursing careers.

With their certifications in hand, they will have immediate opportunities to work in clinical settings such as clinics and campus health care centers, Robinson said.

It will open other opportunities. For example, when applying to nursing school, the certification will show their level of dedication.

The impact also hits on a personal level.

Kelsie Browning said when her grandfather was ill, she didn’t know how to help. It gave her the desire to help people and to become a nurse.

Getting the nationally-recognized certification took a lot of hard work and dedication, she said, and it was “100% worth it.”

For Kate Melgarejo, working through the program gave her a lot of confidence that she did not have before, she said.

Robinson said Kate was able to change the outcome with her attitude.

For Ana Cruz, successfully completing the program was a way to honor her parents.

Family is also important for Cyndi Butler, who serves as the primary caregiver for her grandparents.

Tiara Stephens will be heading off to Prairie View A&M this fall, where she says the university has a top-flight college of nursing.

The school plans a normal opening in the fall, she said, but some orientation activities will be online.

Abby Kratzmeyer, one of the program’s juniors who plans to seek the medical assistant certification next year, said the program helped to push her to achieve when all the other activities were shut down. She was scheduled to defend the pole vault state championship in May.

She was one of three juniors to earn certification as patient care technicians, along with Dawson Elmore and Riley Johnson.

Robinson said the juniors can earn up to four national certifications, including CPR/first aid and Occupational Safety and Health Administration. They can also earn dual college credit.

And when they begin the senior year in the program, they will be much further along, for example, with their knowledge of terminology.

In the coming weeks the seniors-now-graduates can earn phlebotomy certification working with Grace Community Healthcare.

“Both courses provide a tremendous advantage and platform in preparing the students for additional educational courses and training,” Robinson said.

The certification is achieved through a 180-question test. The students said it took an hour to an hour and a half to complete.

Robinson helped prepare them with practice tests, though nothing quite as rigorous as the real thing.

The program had 35-40 freshman students this year.

Robinson said that by the time they complete all four years, their outlook in the high-demand medical fields will be almost limitless.

According to the National Healthcareer Association’s annual survey, 89% of institutions encourage or require certification for medical assistants, and 78% encourage or require certification for patient care technicians.

Professional certifications also result in increased pay at 63% of institutions.