Over 600 students from 24 Snohomish County high schools will soon learn about many different opportunities that the healthcare field has to offer at the upcoming ECHO Tour.

The Exploring Careers & Healthcare Opportunities (ECHO) Tour will take place March 18-20, 2024, at Everett Community College.

The Career Connect Northwest (CCNW) Network, hosted at the Northwest Educational Service District 189 (NWESD), is partnering with the Snohomish STEM Network, hosted at Economic Alliance Snohomish County (EASC), Everett Community College, and additional colleges and healthcare organizations to put on the event.

The ECHO Tour is a dynamic career exploration program designed to provide interactive, multidisciplinary experiences to high school students. Medical professionals and educators will lead hands-on, 30-minute workshops about their careers in many aspects of medicine, including Nursing, Medical Assisting, Behavioral Health, Emergency Medicine and more. Students will experience an introduction to the healthcare field and five hands-on workshops throughout the day. This event is modeled after the CCNW Network’s highly successful, well-attended WAVE Tour, which focuses on construction trades.

“The ECHO Tour bridges the gap for students aspiring to healthcare careers, offering firsthand experiences and connections with professionals,” says Alyssa Jackson, Co-Director for CCNW.

“For many students who are thinking about a career in healthcare, it’s difficult to actually connect with the field since there are restrictions on students entering medical facilities,” said Donovan Tate, Career Connected Learning Specialist and lead event organizer with CCNW. “The ECHO Tour is an opportunity for students to connect with medical professionals and educators to learn more about the fields they may be interested in pursuing.”

Examples of industry and educational organizations leading ECHO Tour student workshops include: Edmonds Community College, The Everett Clinic (a part of Optum Network), Everett Community College, the Everett Fire Department, Evergreen Health Monroe, Marysville School District, Mukilteo Memory Care, the NWESD, Puget Sound Kidney Centers, Skagit Regional Health, Snohomish Chiropractic and Nutrition, and the Snohomish County Health Department.

Career Connect NW has three goals: to catalyze regional workforce stakeholder collaborations; to increase equity and access to family wage, high demand career opportunities; and to support coherent career pathways and workforce readiness.

“The ECHO Tour is an excellent example of how CCNW catalyzes collaboration between organizations to work together to increase future career opportunities for students in a high-demand field,” Jenny Veltri, CCNW Co-Director, said. “We are thrilled to be working with amazing and innovative partners across the region to showcase the amazing career pathways in healthcare.”

An additional aspect included in the ECHO tour includes an opportunity for educators from local schools and community organizations to participate. The workshop will offer seven STEM clock hours and invite educators to participate in the ECHO Tour so they can also learn about the various opportunities in the healthcare field. This way, they can share the information with the students they work with and make connections within their curriculum. Educators can contact Donovan Tate at dtate@nwesd.org for more information on how to sign up for the workshop.

This project is being supported by federal award number SLFRP0194, awarded to Snohomish County by the U.S. Department of Treasury. All Snohomish County school districts have been invited to participate.

For more information, contact Donovan Tate, Career Connected Learning Specialist, at dtate@nwesd.org.