Seventeen Pace High School seniors established a new Pace tradition by graduating as the first four-year class of Pace’s Academy for Health Sciences in conjunction with Barry University’s EMT Academy program.
The 17 seniors, known as “Class 001”, received their graduation certificates in a ceremony held at the Barry University campus on May 25 with their families, teachers, and Academy underclassmen in attendance.
The EMT Academy puts students on a path towards earning their EMT certification and preparing for work in the medical field. As part of the academy, the 17 graduates were Barry University students as well, complete with Barry IDs and instructors from Barry University in their senior year.
Their “Class 001” moniker comes from Kevin LaGrange, lead teacher for the Academy for Health Sciences and a Pace Class of 1996 alumnus, who was inspired by military special forces programs when naming them. The seniors were the first set of graduates to be a part of the Academy of Health Sciences for all of their four years at Pace, continuing the legacy of last year’s first-ever graduating EMT Academy class.
,“To see their growth and development, they embodied what I believed the academy could be,” said LaGrange. “You see them becoming these professionals. They can respond to an emergency. They can walk into your house and perform to a high standard.”
While LaGrange was their teacher for the first three years of the academy, he took on a mentorship and liaison role for their senior year as Barry University instructors taught the class. Jorge Nunez, a Barry EMS instructor and Lieutenant with Miami-Dade Fire Rescue, was the EMT class’ main teacher, followed by Cliff Rickets, a Captain with Miramar Fire-Rescue and Pace Class of 1999 alumnus, and several other Barry instructors in the EMT and medical field.
As part of their class, the students received hands-on clinical experience by riding along and acting as EMTs with the City of Coral Gables Firefighter EMTs and Miami-Dade Ambulance Service. They also worked three 8-hour shifts doing emergency room rotations with the Cleveland Clinic in Weston.
The majority of the graduates will be moving into the medical field, with some pursuing nursing, paramedic, and medical degrees in hopes of becoming doctors or physician assistants. The graduates will be attending Barry University, the University of Miami, University of South Florida, Florida International University, and other schools.
The 15 juniors who will be entering the EMT Academy program next school year were also present at the graduation ceremony, at the invitation of LaGrange. “The students are what make this academy successful. That’s why I invited the juniors to graduation because I want them to experience what is at the end. It’s tradition. That’s what I believe we’ve started here: a tradition.”