Seven Red Cloud High School seniors participating in job shadows

Students learning about medical and judicial careers at Indian Health Services and tribal courthouse

posted on April 12, 2011

Students are learning more about the medical and judicial fields as part of a job shadowing class offered to seniors enrolled in the anatomy and physiology class at Red Cloud High School on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.

For two hours, twice a week, seven seniors travel to Pine Ridge Indian Health Services and the Oglala Sioux Tribe Courthouse to learn more about careers at the hospital and court.

Student Gina Arellano and Sonyah Clifford have been shadowing radiologists at the hospital, learning how to take x-rays.

“It’s really fun because we get to learn about the whole radiology department and see how x-rays are taken without actually pushing the buttons to take them,” says Clifford, who hopes to become a speech pathologist after she completes college.

Arellano agrees.

“I always wanted to be a nurse who works with children, but being in the radiology department this semester has really opened my eyes to the other possibilities that are out there,” she says.

Teacher Keleigh Huff says this class is primarily offered to seniors who are interested in the medical field, but one of the students was interested in the judicial system so the school made the accommodation. She also notes that the partnership with Indian Health Services started a couple years ago under the leadership of Fr. Peter Klink SJ, former president of Red Cloud, and various department heads at IHS.

“The hope is that these students will have the opportunity to see what working in the adult world is like while also getting an idea of what they might like to study after high school,” Huff says.

Raven Grey, a senior, shadows in the acute care nursing department. She says it’s great having the opportunity to see first-hand what nurses do while also being given such an important responsibility.

“I’m loving this class because I’m learning a lot about medical careers and getting to see a lot of what nurses do,” Grey says.

Other students participating in the job shadow are Billie White, who works in the laboratory, Kiley Weston, who works in the physical therapy department, and Brandon Two Bulls, who works in the environmental health department. Senior DeAndra McLaughlin works in the criminal department at the Oglala Sioux Tribe Courthouse.

“It’s great to learn about the different codes and offenses,” says McLaughlin, who was recently accepted to Stamford University and Dartmouth University. “I’ve always wanted to become a prosecutor, but working at the courthouse has made me realize that there are a lot of different jobs out there that have to do with law and I plan to look into them a little more now.”

The students will continue their job shadowing jobs for the remainder of the semester.