By DAWN BONE / Community Columnist

Shelby Baptist Medical Center recently recognized ones of its employees, Caleb Martin, a graduate of Shelby County High School.

“I love it” are the three words Martin used to describe how he feels about being a nurse in Shelby’s Emergency Department.

“I like the people I work with, I like the trauma and I love that every single door you go into has something different behind it,” he said.

Martin, a native of Columbiana, got his first exposure to Shelby Baptist Medical Center in 2014 through the Health Sciences program at the College and Career Center (now called Career Technical Educational Center) with Shelby County Schools.

He completed his nine-week rotation in the Cardiovascular unit and applied for a job in Patient Transport shortly after. The staff in the Emergency Department encouraged Martin to apply for a Patient Care Tech position, which is where he worked until he graduated from Jefferson State’s Nursing program in December 2017.

Martin and his wife are currently looking to buy their first house in Alabaster.

“It’s close to work for both of us, and I don’t plan on leaving Shelby anytime soon,” he said.

The knowledge students receive in career and technical educational classes such as the health science program not only help prepare students for their future, but provide them a career in which they can be successful.

Besides the health science program, the Shelby County School District offers courses in agriscience, automotive technology, biomedical, business, carpentry, collision repair, culinary, construction, cosmetology, education and training, engineering, family and consumer science, plumbing, public safety, programming/coding, robotics, sports medicine, and welding as well as JROTC.

Students who are interested in taking career and technical educational courses next year should talk to their school counselor or career coach.

For more information about Shelby County Schools Career Technical Educational Center, visit shelbyed.k12.al.us/schools/ctec or call 682-6650.