Berkshire Area Health Education Center (Berkshire AHEC) is pleased to announce our second year providing this exciting youth program for promoting health careers, called Youth Health Service Corps (YHSC).  This opportunity for youth is made possible by funding provided by the MassAHEC Network of UMass Medical School/Commonwealth Medicine.   YHSC is a nationwide health careers recruitment program for high school students.  The YHSC provides a six-module curriculum to train high school age students for success working in a volunteer setting.  Each module contains numerous hands-on activities designed to prepare students to interact in health care settings. Students then perform 10-50 hours of volunteer service in health care or human service agencies such as community health centers, homeless shelters, soup kitchens, long-term care facilities, physical therapy clinics and cancer centers. Students choose one of four service learning project tracks, based on their interest: Childhood obesity prevention: nutrition and physical activity, Oral health education & prevention, and Health and Social issues of the aging population.  Service learning projects give students a unique perspective on the needs of their communities.

Kara Pavone joins Berkshire AHEC as a Massachusetts Promise Fellow to coordinate the Youth Health Service Corps.  Her dedication to community service and passion for healthcare is very evident. Most recently Pavone completed a year of national team based community service with the AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC) in the mid-west. Her work culminated in the completion of over 1,800 hours of service across 11 states and impacted countless communities.  In addition to her regular service commitment she was appointed the assistant team leader and secretary of the Governance Council.

 Prior to joining AmeriCorps NCCC, Pavone founded a chapter of Best Buddies an international non-profit organization on her college campus and served as the director for three years. She was chosen to attend the national leadership conference twice. Additionally, Pavone has worked as a teacher for children with intellectual, emotional and developmental disabilities and a nursing assistant in post-operative care.

 Pavone is the recipient of the Presidential Volunteer Service Award, the Congressional Medal of Service and was selected as a Travelocity “Travel for Good” Program Ambassador.

 Pavone holds an undergraduate degree in Behavioral Neuroscience from Northeastern University in Boston. She is currently pursuing her graduate certificate of Non-Profit Management from American Humanics and aspires to continue her education with a master’s degree in Physicians Assistant studies.   To contact Kara Pavone call 413-447-2417 or kpavone@berkshireahec.org.