February 11, 2026
Pathways to Success: The AP Program at Citrus High School
Citrus High School offers a wonderful AP program that allows students to earn college credits while still in high school. The AP program offers multiple classes ranging from AP Calculus to AP Art History.
AP students are encouraged to learn to analyze complex texts and data, develop evidence-based arguments, and solve problems through critical thinking. These students have been working hard all year and their hard work will pay off in May when they take their AP exams and hopefully earn their college credit.
Student Writer: Delaney Laurence
Tampa General Hospital: Inspiring The Next Generation of Healthcare
Written by Student Writer: Kaitlyn Smith
This is a special thank you to Tampa General Hospital for providing outstanding opportunities for students at the Academy of Health Careers.
Recently, some of the senior class Health Academy students were given the opportunity to tour Tampa General Hospital and its facilities. Students were able to explore the Cath lab, emergency department, radiology/lab, an ION session, and were given the AKTIVe training all TGH employees receive! This experience showed students who are interested in pursuing health-related careers more aspects of working in a hospital than ever before. Students were encouraged to participate, ask questions, and even get their names out there to put their foot in the door for a future in medicine. Tampa General Hospital has been incredibly generous and supportive of the Academy of Health Careers and wants to encourage young minds to be a part of the next generation of medicine.
To explore the real world of medicine, outside the classroom, is one the most inspiring values for students in the Health Academy. One example of this is the ION session. The ION session is a new groundbreaking development in medicine that allows hospitals to perform minimally invasive lung biopsies for patients who are suspected of having any stage of lung cancer. Students were shown how the robotic system works, where it goes in the lungs via a model lung, and were even allowed to try it out themself. Students were also able to test out the Da Vinci device. This device is a robotic machine that performs minimally invasive procedures and takes a dedicated, trained physician to assess. Students were challenged with taking tiny rubber bands and putting them onto a plate. This may sound simple, but trying to manipulate the machine to move in the way desired is incredibly difficult. One of the Health Academy students, Melissa Weir, faced this challenge and nailed it. Melissa had so much fun with this challenge and did a truly amazing job, that students in her group made her a different challenge to try and make a rubber band bracelet.
Many experiences, such as this event, are provided within the Health Academy to give like-minded students the push to learn and grow to become the future faces of medical professionals. To learn about the variety of facilities within Tampa General Hospital has opened up new doors for students to peak into.
