Samantha Sims, a senior at Washington High School in Massillon, Ohio, will graduate from high school this spring with the ability to find work in the adult world and the ability to pursue higher career goals in a university program.

Samantha is one of thousands of Stark County students who are preparing for college through a program that also prepares them for the world of work. In Samantha’s case, the opportunities came through Massillon’s DREAM Project, says her principal, Mike Babics.

What is unique is the life experience that motivates Samantha. She wants to be an emergency room nurse. In Samantha’s case, a family tragedy inspired her on her career path. Samantha is the third of nine sisters. When she was in the seventh grade, another sister was on the way. Her mother and father, Dan and Denise Sims, were expecting the child’s birth on Christmas Eve. But on Dec. 8, a doctor discovered there was something wrong with the baby in the womb. The girl that would have been Samantha’s ninth sister was stillborn.

“If anything has pushed me, it was my sister who passed away when I was in the seventh grade. I want to know what happened. I want to work in the E.R. (emergency room). … I want to take care of people”  At the same time, being one of the older girls in the family, she feels a responsibility to her sisters. “The reason I do everything I do is to be a role model for my younger sisters.” Her desire to set a good example has her preparing for a bachelor’s degree in nursing program at The University of Akron.

Her desire to achieve her goals found an environment for growth at Washington High School and its DREAM Program. DREAM stands for Developing Resources for Education and Athletics in Massillon. In Samantha Sims’ case, the DREAM Health Academy’s nursing program has helped her test her interest in nursing. It also has prepared her to take an examination to qualify as a nurse’s aide. This could mean immediate eligibility for employment when she graduates from high school. It could mean summer and part-time employment while she goes to college.

Like so many Stark County high school students preparing for college through a technical education curriculum, Samantha is prepared for college and prepared for the adult workforce. In addition to her pre-nursing curriculum, she is involved in DREAM’s college readiness program. As a senior, she is taking six hours of dual-credit English this year. The courses, taught by Stark State College of Technology Adjunct Prof. David Harding, has proven to Samantha that she can do college-level work.

“I thought I had no idea about how to write a paper. I have told my mom over and over that I am so grateful to have him as a teacher,” Samantha said.

The Massillon DREAM Program has two major components, according to Washington High School Principal Mike Babics and Career and Technical Director Tim Wolf. In addition to the career academies such as Samantha’s nursing preparation program, there is a four-year college readiness program that concentrates on goal-setting, leadership, college and career visits, and academic classes of college-level rigor.

This college-readiness program gives students a great advantage over the people of a generation or two ago.

“When I went to college,” Babics said, “every day was something new to me. First time going to class. First time eating in the dining hall. First time registering for a class. … Our kids are walking out of here and they already have that experience.”

And it is important to note that DREAM’s program is designed to help the middle range of high school students, students who are anywhere from about 80th to about 120th in class rank, students who might not have the sharp college goals that students with higher class ranks have.

DREAM’s college readiness component is designed, in Babics’ words, “for the Great Middle” of the student body. And by encouraging these students to aspire to college, Washington High School is Building Stark By Degrees.

The key to any career and college readiness program, in Tim Wolf’s view, is not the programs but the teachers committed to helping students. “The person delivering those programs (teachers) are the most critical piece. If you don’t have the right person delivering the career program, you can’t succeed.” In Wolf’s view, they have the right people, and their students are succeeding because of it.