11 Henderson County graduates join Healthcare Fellows

Healthcare Fellows in Henderson County, North Carolina, grew to 11 in their second class, up from nine in the first class. The 11 are recent graduates of the county school district, and they were celebrated at a second annual Signing Day event at the college.

Each of the Healthcare Fellows will study at the college with financial support from AdventHealth Hendersonville or UNC Health Pardee. The support covers tuition, books and required gear, according to the school district.

Healthcare Fellows who complete their programmes successfully are promised a job with the healthcare organisation sponsoring them. That promise is the centre of the programme, because it links training directly to a job with a local employer.

Who the new Healthcare Fellows are

UNC Health Pardee sponsors six Healthcare Fellows. They are Leslie Arzate-Castillo, Robin Gomez-Contreras and Giselle Guerrero-Corona of North Henderson High School, Taylor Currin of West Henderson High School, Genesis Hernandez-Lopez of Hendersonville High School and Ryah McDonald of East Henderson High School.

AdventHealth Hendersonville sponsors five Healthcare Fellows. They are Emily Coren of Hendersonville High School, Melanie Dowers and Caroline Jackson of West Henderson High School, Miranda Lopez of North Henderson High School and Kadence Moore of East Henderson High School.

The split shows how the programme works in practice. Each fellow has one sponsoring hospital, one school background in Henderson County, and one place of study at Blue Ridge Community College. The district published the full list at Signing Day, and Hendersonville.com republished it on October 20, 2026.

How Healthcare Fellows study and train

Healthcare Fellows receive academic and clinical mentorship as well as dual enrolment coursework, according to the district. The programme also provides hands on experience, with the aim of removing financial barriers to healthcare training and keeping trained workers in the region.

The partners are the school district, Blue Ridge Community College, AdventHealth Hendersonville, UNC Health Pardee and the Henderson County Education Foundation. The two healthcare employers provide the financial sponsorship, while the students pursue their studies at the community college.

Superintendent Mark R. Garrett said the growth in the second year showed what was possible when schools and community partners shared a commitment to students. He said the 11 graduates were beginning a pathway that gave them education, support and experience to build careers in the county, and he thanked the partners for investing in students and in local healthcare.

The programme also aims to keep trained workers in the area where they grew up. Students train close to home, work with mentors from local hospitals, and finish with a credential from a college in their own county. That local link is part of the design, because the hospitals that sponsor the training are the employers that will hire from it, and the schools that send the students are in the same community as both hospitals and the college.

What guaranteed employment means for Healthcare Fellows

Guaranteed employment in this programme is tied to successful completion. The district wording is clear on that point: fellows who successfully complete their programmes are promised a job with their sponsoring healthcare organisation. The guarantee does not remove the need to finish the training.

That condition also shapes the value of the sponsorship. Tuition, books and gear are covered during study, and the job follows completion, so the pathway runs from school to college to a named local employer. For students who finish, the next step is already set, rather than left to a separate job search.

The programme began with nine fellows in its first class. The second class of 11 shows the model expanding in its second year, with the same partners, the same college and the same offer of sponsorship and guaranteed employment on completion.