Kinlei Birdsell wants to one day be a prosecuting attorney. Or she might be a forensic scientist. Or she might pursue other areas of criminology. Or she might seek an elected office and enter the arena of politics. The resident of Marion County has not quite made up her mind. And she doesn’t have to. At least not yet. She is only 14 years old.
Kinlei was one of 43 rising students entering their freshman year of high school throughout the state of West Virginia who took part in the annual Health Sciences and Technology Academy (HSTA) this week on the campus of WVU Potomac State College. The camp wrapped up Thursday night with a mini-science fair and recognition dinner.
“I live with my grandparents, and it can be a struggle for them to support me financially at times,” Kinlei said. “So, this camp will help me attend college one day and pursue my career choice in law enforcement. I want to be a lawyer who puts the bad guys away, or I want to go into forensics. Or politics. This camp goes hand-in-hand with those goals.”
Similarly, Jordan Abel, 15, a resident of Taylor County, wants to pursue a career in architectural design.
“I want to be an architect and design buildings, and this program will help me get there,” she said.
Jackson Lemons, 15, hails from Marion County and attended the week-long HSTA camp at PSC.
“I want to learn more about math and science. I want to one day be a statistician and help solve the climate change crisis.”
Onyx O’Neill is also 15 and plays JV football in Marshall County. He attended the HSTA camp to expand his scholarship opportunities.
“I wanted to get away from home and away from football for a bit,” he said. “I am here to learn more about careers in chemistry. This camp is a lot of learning. We need to attend two camps before we graduate high school, and this was the first one available, and I think going into my freshman year of high school was a good time to do it.”
“This program is definitely going to prepare me for the future,” said Parker Kennedy, 14, of Barber County. “When I was little, my dad worked at an electrical company, and I always thought electricity was cool. I have always wanted to learn more about electricity, and this camp will help me do that, plus it can help me pay for college.”
Genevieve Mahon is 15 and from Taylor County. “Why wouldn’t anyone want to take advantage of this program and all the benefits it could offer?” she said. “The competition to get into this is hard. And you have to apply early, but once you are in, you just follow the rules and complete the program, and you have money to go to college that you would not have had without it.”
HSTA is a one-of-a-kind mentoring program in the state of West Virginia that helps participating high school students enter and succeed in STEM+M-based undergraduate and graduate degree programs. The program was founded in 1994 through a generous multi-million dollar grant to WVU from the Kellogg Foundation.
PSC was the first campus this summer to offer the camp and the first step of many in a unique program geared toward securing finances for a college education for West Virginia students. For the past several summers, PSC has hosted one of two available camps for students entering their freshman year of high school, facilitating classroom content centered around biology, chemistry, physics, math, and environmental sciences.
“Our camp at Potomac State College follows the theme of ‘Using STEM to Save the Planet,’” said Kara Hotchkiss, director of student life at PSC. Hotchkiss is also the HSTA program coordinator at PSC. “The students participate in classroom curriculum in each of the five subject areas, completing different projects and experiments during the week. Potomac State offers the first exposure to HSTA."
Other campuses and divisions of WVU – as well as Marshall University – host HSTA Camps for high school students entering their sophomore, junior, and senior years.
Jessica Russler is a teacher in Jefferson County and one of the guest instructors for the freshman HSTA summer camp at Potomac State College.
“This is very rewarding as a teacher to see kids take advantage of this program and enroll in HSTA,” she said. “They come from areas of the state that might not have the financial breaks otherwise. This opens up new opportunities for them. This is the first step in making a better life for themselves than their parents might have had.”
Students in West Virginia counties where their high schools participate in the program are then eligible to receive undergraduate tuition waivers from WVU of up to $122,000 for completing the full criteria of HSTA.
That criterion includes:
· Attending two summer campus academies
· Completing at least 75 hours of community service
· Maintaining a 2.5 GPA in their freshman year of high school and a 3.0 GPA in their sophomore, junior, and senior years.
· And completing and defending a final project which addresses STEM-related materials.
Founded in 1994, HSTA has produced stunning statistics:
· Between 1998 and 2024, 3,555 high school students graduated from HSTA.
· 99% of HSTA graduates matriculate to college.
· 87% graduate from college; 86% graduate with a four-year degree or higher
· 84% of HSTA college graduates continue to live and work in West Virginia.
· On average, HSTA students earn $30,000 per year more than their parents.
A first-generation college student, Jordan Means is an alumna of the program and still remembers her exposure to HSTA a decade ago and how it prepared her for her career and the benefits it gave her financially in pursuing her education.
“I knew from an early age I wanted to go into the healthcare field, and going through this program helped me do that. It helped pay for college. I came out of my undergraduate work at WVU debt-free because of HSTA. And then it inspired me to continue my education. And college is where I found my community.”
Janelle Williams’ connection to HSTA has come full circle in her life and career. Williams attended the very first HSTA camp when it was launched in 1994 and completed the program requirements before her own graduation in 1998.
“Being an original HSTA member is an extreme honor,” she said. “The memories, mentorships, and friendships gained through my HSTA experience have continued throughout my life. I was a part of a groundbreaking program that opened doors to education, leadership, professional opportunities, and a lasting legacy of service in West Virginia.”
Williams now serves as a Gallup Certified Strengths Coach and Strategic Human Resources Partner with WVU. Her work responsibilities today take her to the WVU Institute of Technology, WVU Potomac State College, and the WVU Division for Land-Grant Engagement. She said the foundation for her career and her love for all things WVU began 30 years ago as a freshman enrolled in HSTA.
“HSTA provided educational opportunities that led to academic enrichment, research experiences, STEM-focused learning, leadership development, and summer campus programs. My commitment to HSTA prepared me for a successful undergraduate and graduate college life,” Williams said. “My career advancement was influenced by the research opportunities, educational advancement, and support I gained from my HSTA mentors. My professional network is composed of several HSTA Alumni and Mentors. We are not only a community, we have become connected. HSTA changed my life for the better.”
Not only is Jaden Fulz a residence life specialist at PSC, but he also spends his summers as a counselor and mentor for the HSTA camps. After participating in the freshman camp in Keyser, he also serves in the same volunteer role at the sophomore camps in Beckley and Glenville.
“I like seeing the growth of these students as they go through the program,” he said. “They enter the camp shy, and when they leave, they all know each other and have made all of these new connections. It’s a great opportunity for these kids. When I go to the sophomore camps, I will see some of the students I saw last year at the freshman camp. It’s nice to see all of the students take advantage of this unique program and to see how they grow and learn from one year to the next.”
As director of the program, Catherine Morton, who also captains Health Careers Opportunity Programs at the WVU Robert C. Byrd Health Sciences Center, oversees the camp coordination at all of the locations.
“We marshal the efforts of hundreds of mentors—teachers, community members, higher-education faculty and staff, and the HSTA participants themselves—through a framework that supports students facing social and financial challenges to obtaining a diploma and moving on to college,” she said.
Morton said Potomac State College does an exceptional job at one of the first available camps that the students can attend.
“Kara (Hotchkiss) and Potomac State run an excellent camp. They are just the best,” she said. “This summer marks the beginning of HSTA’s 32nd year of preparing West Virginia students for college, careers, and service to their communities. What began as a vision to grow our own healthcare workforce has become one of the state’s greatest success stories.”
According to Morton, today, 85% of HSTA graduates continue to live and work in West Virginia.
“They are physicians, nurses, pharmacists, dentists, therapists, researchers, medical technicians, educators, and leaders who are making a difference in every corner of our state,” she said. “As we welcome another class of students to summer camp, we are reminded that every lesson, every mentor, and every word of encouragement matter. The future of healthcare in West Virginia is being shaped today by the students in our classrooms and the dedicated college faculty and HSTA teachers and staff who believe in them.”
To participate in HSTA, there is also an ongoing application process. However, applications to attend the prerequisite summer camps open in April of each year and are often full before May, requiring many students to be placed on a wait list. Most campuses – like Potomac State College – hold the summer HSTA camps in July. This investment reflects the Legislature’s long-standing commitment to developing West Virginia’s future workforce and keeping talented students in the Mountain State, Morton said.
“For 32 years, HSTA has demonstrated that when we invest in the potential of West Virginia's young people, they invest their futures back into our state,” she said. “Our greatest achievement isn’t measured by numbers alone. It is measured by the lives our graduates touch every day in the communities they now serve.”