Austin, TX – Southern Careers Institute (SCI) prides itself on giving students hands-on training in preparation for employment in their chosen field of study. Recently, SCI students in the medical assistant program at the Austin campus had the opportunity to work with IDEA Public Schools to administer COVID-19 vaccines to the community. Due to their great work and positive community feedback, students will return to assist with administering the second vaccine doses on May 8.

“We are proud of our students and so excited that they were able to provide such an important service to the Austin community,” said Lonnicia Maxwell, Campus Director at SCI Austin. “This was a great opportunity for them as they begin their journey into the field of medicine.”

SCI tailors its programs to meet the needs of employers in the regions they serve, enabling graduates to more easily enter the job market. Developing an essential workforce, particularly in allied health fields, has been invaluable to students and employers over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic.

SCI’s Austin campus had 88 percent of medical assistant program graduates placed in jobs in their field or a related field of instruction.*

“In teaming up with IDEA public schools to vaccinate a portion of the Austin community, the students are able to serve others while gaining experience,” said Dr. Valerie Cervantes, physician and Medical Assistant Instructor at SCI Austin, who will be working with the students at the clinic. “It is such a rewarding moment for them.”

*Based on graduates from July 1, 2019 to June 30, 2020, in accordance with reporting guidelines from the Council on Occupational Education.