At Blue Valley North, students are taking education beyond the classroom through the CAPS (Center for Advanced Professional Studies) program. The program acts as a launchpad for future careers, allowing high schoolers to gain hands-on experience in fields such as healthcare, education, business and design. For BVN students in the program, CAPS provides not only practical skills but also clarity and excitement about their futures.
Senior Kennedy Dunbar joined CAPS through the Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) course after completing veterinary studies the year before. What began as curiosity turned into confirmation of her career goals.
“I’d done all the veterinary courses last year,” Dunbar said. “My teacher told me I should try CNA. I figured, why not? I love all kinds of medical fields.”
Through the program, Dunbar discovered that her childhood dream of becoming a veterinarian still held true.
“It made me realize that 4-year-old me was right,” Dunbar said. “This is the path I want.”
Dunbar describes CAPS as an environment that feels more like a professional workplace than a school.
“You’re treated like a young adult,” Dunbar said. “We’re responsible for our own attendance and communication, which makes it feel like a real job.”
Her class involves unique high school experiences, such as shadowing medical professionals and assisting with hands-on procedures.
“It’s not something you just read about, you actually do it,” Dunbar said.
Fellow BVN senior Gianna Winston shares a similar passion, though in a different CAPS course—Education Exploration. For Winston, the best part has been connecting with people and getting real-world experiences in a classroom.
“In my class there’s only one person from Blue Valley North, so I’ve gotten to meet a lot of new people I’ve become really close with,” Winston said. “The most fun thing has definitely been shadowing teachers. I did one in a fifth-grade classroom, and it was so fun getting to be around all the kids and form connections.”
Winston plans to pursue speech therapy and says CAPS has made her even more excited about that path.
“I’ve gotten to see what speech therapy looks like outside of a school building,” Winston explained. “CAPS hasn’t made me want to change careers— it has made me more excited for the one I’ve chosen.”
“It’s really cool getting to figure out what you love now,” Winston said. “By the time we get to college, we already know who we want to be.”
