LENOX — Lenox Memorial Middle High School (LMMHS) senior Kelsey Kirchner comes from a long line of nurses.
“For a long time, I was very against going into the medical field. I wanted to be different,” Kirchner said.
Wanting to diverge from her family’s line of work, she explored other options.
However, after taking various science courses at LMMHS, specifically chemistry and anatomy, Kirchner realized that her “science brain” was calling her to the healthcare industry. Nursing was back on the table.
Late in her junior year, she developed a strong interest in anesthesia. She approached LMMHS School Counselor Pamela Murray with the idea of participating in a shadowing experience or internship at Fairview Hospital in Great Barrington.
“My mom is a nurse at Fairview Hospital, so I already had some connections there. I wanted to intern at Fairview because I was already familiar with some of the staff. I knew they would make me feel comfortable in the new environment and would be great teachers. I have also been to Fairview numerous times for different reasons, whether getting blood drawn or going to the ER, and I have always felt like it was a very safe, comfortable environment. I felt like this would be a good place for me to begin my learning in the medical field.”
Murray engaged in conversations with Fairview’s Director of Education Elizabeth Nichols, RN, MSN/Ed., CENP, LNC, which ultimately led to a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between Lenox Public Schools and Fairview Hospital.
Thanks to this partnership, Kirchner landed the internship, where she is learning about the role of a nurse anesthetist and shadowing nurses in pre-op, post-op, the Operating Room (OR), and the Post-Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU). Having needed to wait until she turned 18 before being able to enter the OR, she began the internship on March 5. It will last through the end of the spring semester.
“This partnership will allow all LMMHS students who are interested in the healthcare field to participate in job shadowing and internship opportunities,” said Murray.
This newly formed MOA with Fairview Hospital has opened doors for students in the District’s Innovation Career Pathways (ICP) program, a Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) initiative designed to connect student learning to specific career pathways in high-demand fields.
“Students who are in the Healthcare & Social Assistance Innovation Career Pathway at LMMHS can fulfill their internship requirement through these opportunities we now have access to at Fairview,” Murray explained. “We have several students who have shown an interest in pursuing internship opportunities for the summer of 2025.”
“I am very glad I could open up this opportunity to other students,” said Kirchner. “It’s great to be able to see what my future career could look like and know if it’s right for me.”
The District earned its designation and was approved to launch its Healthcare & Social Assistance and Business & Finance programs in 2022, thanks to the efforts of LMMHS Counselors Murray and Tara Romeo. Murray and Romeo applied for and received more than $200,000 in grant funding to implement the programs.
Although Kirchner wasn’t able to get the full four-year experience of participating in Lenox’s Healthcare & Social Assistance ICP program, she is taking advantage of it while she’s still at LMMHS. She is currently enrolled in Introduction to the Human Body at Berkshire Community College, allowing her to obtain college credits while still in high school.
“I know getting this internship required a lot of effort, and I want to thank everyone involved in giving me this opportunity,” Kirchner said.
In the fall, she will attend the University of Rhode Island, where she will major in nursing and participate in the honors program.
To learn more about Lenox’s ICP programs, visit the District’s Guidance webpage under “Innovative Career Pathways.”
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