The summer after his sophomore year in high school, Ryan Smith knew he was interested in firefighting.

So he began looking into the different options and programs available to him as a high school student. Initially, as a Running Start student, he planned to enter the fire science degree program at Bellevue College (BC). However, he said that following school year, BC closed the program. Following this news, Smith’s school counselor at Emerson K-12 in Kirkland suggested he enroll in the fire and EMS course through the Washington Network for Innovative Careers (WANIC) Skill Center.

An inter-district effort

WANIC is a consortium made up of seven school districts from the Eastside: Bellevue, Issaquah, Lake Washington, Mercer Island, Northshore, Riverview and Snoqualmie Valley. Through this partnership, the districts share career and technical education (CTE) programs and high school students from any of the participating districts are able to enroll in any of the courses — even those whom are not at their home school or home district.

Courses are offered at a number of locations throughout the districts, including Lake Washington Institute of Technology (LWIT) in Kirkland and DigiPen Institute of Technology in Redmond as well as in schools in the Northshore, Bellevue and Issaquah school districts. And as in Running Start, students must provide their own transportation to get to these courses.

And while courses are offered all over the Eastside, Lake Washington School District (LWSD) is the host district for WANIC.

Dan Phelan, career technical education (CTE) director for LWSD, said in this role, they are responsible for budgeting, auditing accounting and reporting WANIC programs. In addition, he said students in any of the WANIC programs will appear as LWSD Skill Center student enrollment — one of the reasons the district had a higher-than-average spike in enrollment this school year, as previously reported.

And because WANIC is part of public school districts, there is no cost to students. However, there may be course or lab fees for supplies and other costs, just as typical high school courses may require.

Phelan added that if students find themselves unable to pay any required fees, WANIC will find the funds to help them.

“Money should never hold a kid back (from enrolling in the program),” he said.

Fields of study

WANIC is a state-approved inter-district CTE consortium, WANIC’s primary mission is to provide quality, diverse and cost-effective career and technical education for all students.

“It was established to provide advanced-level career and technical education program based upon rigorous academic and industry standards to prepare students for post-secondary education and successful entry in to high-skill, high-demand careers and employment,” Phelan said.

In addition, Karen Hay, director of WANIC, said students can also receive college credits for the WANIC courses they take, bringing them that much closer to a degree. WANIC classes can also shorten the time it takes for them to earn specific certifications in their chosen field.

The different areas of study offered through WANIC are arts, media, communication and design; business management; natural resources and agri-science; engineering, science and technology; health and human services; and information technology.

Specific WANIC courses include interior design; horticulture; welding technology, design and fabrication; DigiPen robotics and future technologies; sports medicine; CISCO Networking Academy and fire and EMS.

Hay said WANIC has 13 skill centers that are three class periods long and in which students can earn three credits. She said the program also offers 1-2 credit courses that are one period long. There are also three-week courses students can take during the summer.

Career training

Smith enrolled in the fire and EMS course his junior year and now, as a senior, is still in the program.

“It’s a great program,” he said.

In the fire and EMS course, Smith has gained firefighting, first aid and medical knowledge. Smith said his class also includes spending time at various fire stations in the area for more hands-on experiences such as receiving bunker gear, performing drills and working in student “company” groups just as firefighters work in engine companies.

Jack Greaves — who is the director of the fire and EMS program and runs First-In Training and Education, the nonprofit WANIC hired to run the courses — said students learn basic fundamentals of firefighting and first responder medical training and also learn to work together in teams. He said this gives them the opportunity to get comfortable with the duties they would be tasked with on the job.

When asked if he would have participated in such a program if it was available to him when he was in high school, Greaves — a Bothell firefighter — said he definitely would have signed up. Greaves added that a former fire chief he brought in to speak with students one day voiced his amazement that such a course is available to high school students.

In addition to the technical and skills training they receive through WANIC, both Greaves and Smith said there are skills students learn that can be applied to any field. These include leadership and communication skills, accountability and punctuality.

Smith added that the WANIC courses are character building and they give students the opportunity to meet and connect with other students they probably would not have otherwise because they are in different schools and districts. He said the people — students and instructors alike — are his favorite inbeing part of WANIC. Smith said he is still in contact with students from last year and has become close friends with a number of people.

A win-win

While WANIC exposes students to possible career paths and offers an affordable option to set them on that path, the program may also have the opposite effect: Students may go through a course only to learn that they do not want to pursue a career in that particular field.

“That’s a win,” Hay said, because it saves them time and money as they are not spending years paying for college courses they learn they do not enjoy.

She said that lesson is just as important to learn as finding your passion.

Smith agreed, saying it is definitely good to learn whether you are really interested in a field before spending thousands of dollars to attend college (or in his case a firefighting academy) only to learn you don’t like the subject matter.

Fortunately for Smith, he has learned he really does enjoy firefighting.