Editor’s Note: Each CHS senior is doing a career presentation, in which they share their future plans and life goals - a requirement for the Senior College Prep class. The seniors then give the presentation to the entire student body. We want to spotlight our CHS seniors by sharing their future plans with you.

With graduation only a few weeks away, Callaway senior Jocelyn Bailey is preparing for the next chapter of her life and education. She plans to attend the University of Nebraska at Kearney next fall where she will major in health sciences in pre-occupational therapy. She anticipates completing her health science major in four years and her occupational therapy degree in another two years.

Bailey has always been involved in extracurricular activities in high school, and plans to continue that into her college life. She is looking at participating in a variety of intramural activities in Kearney this fall, including sand volleyball, pitch tournaments, cornhole tournaments and indoor mini golf.

She also plans to fit time into her schedule to work as a CNA and Med Aid, both of which will be beneficial in her health sciences career path.

Next fall Bailey will reside in Centennial Towers West on the UNK campus, where an entire floor of the dorm is dedicated to health science students. She has even already met her roommate!

Bailey will be pursuing a bachelor’s degree in health science and a doctorate degree in occupational therapy. As an occupational therapist she will be working in schools, hospitals, nursing homes or home health to assist patients gain independence.

“I like working in healthcare and helping people. I currently work as a CNA and I like what I do,” Bailey explained.

Two strengths that Bailey said she sees in herself that she believes will help in her career are adaptability and restorative. “That means I am good at finding problems and fixing them, and this is what my career is based on so it will be helpful to me.”

She said Callaway High School has played a very big role in her decision to enter the medical field. “Callaway is now offering a CNA class as dual credit, and that allowed me to get more experience in the medical field,” Bailey shared.

Bailey is currently the president of the Callaway FCCLA chapter. “Being the president this year gave me more opportunities to get things done for our chapter during the day,” she said.

Her capstone project for FCCLA is pizza kits, which are sold to earn money to attend the state FCCLA Leadership Conference. It was a big undertaking for her and she created an account for sales of the kits, set goals and timelines which she then shared with other members, input all of the orders and then organized them after delivery. Bailey said she sees many of the skills she acquired through that project as helpful in the future.

She serves as a teacher’s aid for Mrs. Pop in the grades 8 - 12 family consumer sciences classes. Though she enjoys that she is quick to say pursuing a career in teaching is not something she would consider.

“I do not have the patience to teach students,” she said with a smile.

Looking ahead a few months to moving out of the family home and onto a college campus, Bailey said she is excited to meet new people. However, she does admit that the academics of her chosen major do make her a little nervous. “Especially more A&P (anatomy and physics) classes,” she said.

Her best advice for students coming after her? “Don’t stress too much!”

That sounds like good advice for all of us.