Kaitlyn Mills already knew she wanted a future in healthcare. Through Prosper Appalachia, she had the chance to step into that future before she even graduated high school.
Prosper Appalachia is EKCEP’s in-school career exploration and work-based learning program, helping Eastern Kentucky students explore career paths, connect with local employers, and build real-world workplace skills close to home. In Bell County, EKCEP partners with Bell-Whitley Community Action Agency to deliver the program locally, connecting students with Career Development Specialists who help them think through their goals and identify opportunities that match their interests.
Mills, a recent graduate of Bell County High School, worked with Bell-Whitley Career Development Specialist Taryn Mills during her senior year. She first learned about Prosper Appalachia from friends who were getting jobs through the program, and when she connected with Taryn, the process started with a simple but important conversation about Kaitlyn’s future.
“In the beginning, she sat me down and she was like, what are you wanting to do? What are you wanting to be in the future?” Kaitlyn said. “And I was like, yes, if at all possible. I would like to work in a hospital, a doctor’s office, any type of healthcare setting.”
Taryn helped Kaitlyn explore options that matched her interests and connected her with Southeast Family Practice, a family doctor’s office in Pineville that provides family medicine and psychiatric care.
At the clinic, Kaitlyn gained paid, hands-on experience in a healthcare setting while completing her senior year of high school. Her work introduced her to the day-to-day responsibilities of a medical office, including taking patient vitals, charting information, helping clean around the office, and other duties.
The experience did more than give Kaitlyn her first job. It gave her a clearer sense of the healthcare path she wanted to pursue after graduation.
“I’m wanting to be an anesthesiologist,” she said. “Working in a doctor’s office … this has made it clear that that’s what I want to do. So now I’m going to major in biology and it’s actually made me pursue a career and I got my nursing assistant license because of the job.”
Kaitlyn earned her license through Bell County Vocational School and Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College, giving her another step forward in healthcare.
“It’s very rewarding and I’m very blessed that I got the opportunity to do this, but it has totally boosted me up with my education in healthcare,” she said. “I’ve learned so much and it’s given me the opportunity to work in a nursing home or a hospital.”
In addition to clinical experience, Prosper Appalachia helped Kaitlyn build workplace habits that will carry into future jobs. Because the internship was paid, she had to track her time each day, log her hours, and keep up with weekly totals.
As her first job, the internship also helped Kaitlyn learn how to work with supervisors and coworkers in a professional setting. She said the staff at Southeast Family Practice made that transition easier.
“Honestly, they welcomed me with open arms and they helped me so much,” Kaitlyn said. “They were patient and they were kind, and it has definitely mentally prepared me for my future career.”
Kaitlyn said she would encourage other students to take advantage of Prosper Appalachia if they are trying to choose a career path or gain experience in a field they are interested in. For her, the program turned an early interest in healthcare into real experience, a stronger plan after graduation, and a better understanding of what it takes to begin building a career close to home.
Prosper Appalachia is funded in part through support from the Kentucky General Assembly as part of the Putting Young Kentuckians to Work initiative, but private donations help EKCEP expand critical work experience opportunities for students across Eastern Kentucky. To invest in the future of our region’s young people, donate directly at ekcep.org/donate.
EKCEP, a nonprofit workforce development agency headquartered in Hazard, Ky., serves the citizens of 23 Appalachian coalfield counties. EKCEP is funded by the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, along with various federal and state grants and private donations, and is a proud partner in the American Job Center network.