This summer was an impactful learning experience interning with the nonprofit SOAR. The goal of SOAR is to give back to the 54 counties that reside in Eastern Kentucky. The SOAR team is a collective of some of the hardest, selfless workers I have ever met. Day In and day out they are dedicated to their mission statement, and it shows. I took from this internship learning about the challenges that Eastern Kentucky faced. Eastern Kentucky is behind educationally, and economically, and has fewer opportunities when compared to the non-Appalachian regions of Kentucky. SOAR is actively working to address these issues and give back to the communities as much as they possibly can by having numerous amounts of programs that promote economic growth among the 54 counties in eastern Kentucky. When arriving in Pikeville, Kentucky we were informed within the first week about the nursing shortage in Eastern Kentucky. This region does not have enough nurses, so they hire traveling nurses and it quickly gets costly for the hospitals. Our focus was to address the nursing shortage. SOAR created the Appalachian Nursing Academy that hosts selected uprising juniors and seniors in high school from the 54 counties in Eastern Kentucky to educate them on different healthcare fields and inform them on a variety of topics regarding the medical field. SOAR granted those who completed the academy $1,500 scholarship to help the students further their education. This internship has taught me how to manage a large workload. Lots of projects were completed in preparation for this year’s Appalachian Nursing Academy participants where I had to problem-solve and use critical thinking to address a variety of challenges that were presented before the academy started. I’d like to thank the SOAR team and Dr. Jill Rodgers for making this internship happen. The guidance and support have been extremely helpful. Thankful for such an amazing alumni network that Wabash has.
