Sunday, April 14, 2013 9:20 PM
EDT
By Robert Storace
Staff
Writer
NEW BRITAIN — As he stood inside the “Mega Body”
exhibit at last week’s third annual Health Academy Fair at New Britain High
School, Kevin Acosta reflected on what the academy has meant to him and his
fellow students.
Acosta,
a 17-year-old junior, said he decided he wanted to become either a physical
therapist or occupational therapist after working at the Hospital for Special
Care.Acosta,
who works upward of 30 hours a week at the hospital during school, said, “I
learned that physical therapy is not just a job, but a lifestyle. You help people every day. You are rebuilding a person’s life.
That is what I am drawn to.”
Acosta
said he has seen “kids walking around with oxygen tanks and people in
wheelchairs. I’ve seen the care that nurses and
physical therapists give every day.”
Acosta
and many of his 350 classmates who are enrolled in the academy attended the fair
which was complete with a simulated robot that talks, blinks its eyes and
breathes; a 51-foot-long mega-body exhibit, complete with anatomical parts of
the heart, lungs and stomach; and various health exhibits.Those
with exhibits included Central Connecticut State University, the Petit
Foundation, the Hospital of Central Connecticut and the Hospital for Special
Care.
Mike Zayas, lead teacher of
the health academy, said the fair is a testament to the academy’s success. The academy — the only one of
its kind in the state — has grown from 51 students enrolled in one course in its
first year in 2010 to 350 students enrolled today taking part in 10 separate
courses.
“The
kids are getting awareness in all major issues related to the human body and
they are seeing avenues of different potential careers,” Zayas said. “We wanted to fill a need of a
(health) growing career field in
Aisha
Velez, a 15-year-old sophomore and future nurse, said the hands-on approach of
the academy is what she liked.
“It’s
meant a lot to me,” Aisha said. “I learned how to do CPR and how to work with
and treat people.”
The
Petit Foundation awarded a $14,000 grant to help fund the mega-body exhibit. William Petit, foundation
founder, attended the fair.
“One
of our missions is to help educate young people, especially women in the
sciences,” Petit said. “Seeing these students makes me
feel hopeful. Healthcare is one of the
growing fields and we need providers.”
The
foundation was founded to honor Petit’s wife and two young daughters, who were
killed in a home invasion in
Robert
Storace can be reached at (860) 225-4601, ext. 223, or atrstorace@newbritainherald.com .
http://www.newbritainherald.com/articles/2013/04/15/news/doc516b4fe1eb4ac991336649.txt