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ARMC Foundation Board Chair Catherine Bishop, DO (left) and ARMC Healthcare System President and CEO Leonard Stepp, Jr. (right), joined ARMC Academy students at a recent commencement ceremony ending the 2025 internship program. Students participating in ARMC Academy this year were (front, from left): Madalyn Dragon, Jenna Timonere, Karis Peyton, MaKayla Alleman (back) Kadence McBride, Amelia Sanford, Mackenzie Kribbs, Lily Hammond, Morgan Cunningham, and Kambria Barlow.

As Ashtabula County students return to school and talk about what they did this summer, 11 of them will be telling about their experiences at ARMC Academy. The 2025 class of ARMC Academy represented seven schools from across Ashtabula County:

• A-Tech – Senior Kambria Barlow (Geneva) and Senior Morgan Cunningham (Lakeside)
• Conneaut High School – 2025 Graduate Kadence McBride and 2025 Graduate Amelia Sanford
• Edgewood High School – Junior MaKayla Alleman
• Pymatuning Valley High School – Junior Mackenzie Kribbs and Senior Karis Peyton
• John School – Junior Madalyn Dragon, Junior Lily Hammond, Senior Stellaluna Madrigal and Junior Jenna Timonere

ARMC Academy was created in 2008 to give high school students an opportunity to see the medical profession in action and to gain exposure to healthcare careers. Students intern for eight weeks side-by-side with clinical and non-clinical professionals in various departments throughout the hospital.

Each student was assigned to specific areas for several days at a time, working in nursing units, physician offices, radiology, pharmacy, surgery and other departments. In some cases, they interacted with patients or observed direct patient care such as surgeries, imaging, physician visits or rehabilitation therapy. Lunch periods were spent as a group, learning from both clinical and non-clinical professionals. In addition, students spent time at Glenbeigh and Kent State University – Ashtabula.

The program ended with a ceremony honoring the students and caregivers who worked with them. Each student gave a presentation and discussed the impact their summer experiences in the ARMC Academy program had on them and their career path.

“In addition to the medical education I received, I also learned several life lessons,” said McBride, “including the importance of caregivers being empathetic, not sympathetic with their patients.”

Cuningham said she entered the program with the goal of pursuing a career as a physician. “During my rotation at Cleveland OBGYN, I determined that I want work as a physician assistant in women’s health, not as a physician,” said Cunningham.

ARMC Healthcare System President & CEO Leonard Stepp, Jr. congratulated the students for their participation and hard work.

“Healthcare is a major economic driver in Ashtabula County and ARMC Healthcare System is the county’s largest employer. ARMC Academy gives students the opportunity to see first-hand if a potential career in healthcare is for them – and lets them know that there are great opportunities right at ARMC,” Stepp said. “I look forward to the ARMC Academy every year. The academy students inspire and rejuvenate all of us at ARMC. Our caregivers truly enjoy working with them and sparking their interest in working in healthcare.”

In addition to the career experience learned through ARMC Academy, each student received a $500 scholarship. Each year, up to two students are selected to receive an additional $1,000 scholarship. Kambria Barlow and Amelia Sanford were this year’s recipients. They were selected based on their performance and exceptional engagement throughout the eight weeks.

ARMC Academy is funded through the generous support of the ARMC Foundation. ARMC Foundation Executive Director Amy Price, said the Foundation’s donors have remarkable impact on the community.

“The ARMC Academy program has great benefit for local healthcare as it helps prepare the workforce of the future. It’s helping our local students make sound education and career decisions,” Price said. “We’re also seeing a growing number of our Academy students come back to work at ARMC. That has powerful, rippling benefits to the local community.”

ARMC will begin seeking applications for the 2026 ARMC Academy early next year. To learn more about ARMC Academy and the students’ experiences, visit www.armchealh.org/foundation/armc-academy.