First published in the Sept. 22 print issue of the Pasadena Outlook.
La Salle College Preparatory has received a historic $1 million grant from the President Carrico Family Foundation in support of the school’s newly launched CARLOW Center for Medical Innovation.
This grant represents the largest one-time gift in the school’s 66-year history.
The national and local health care field continues to be one of the fastest growing industries in the 21st century. The CARLOW Center for Medical Innovation will provide a state-of-the-art medical career pathway for students interested in becoming the next leaders in this fascinating and expanding industry. Each student will receive academic instruction and laboratory skills, training them to act, react and save lives in all types of emergencies and healthcare scenarios. The development of this program is directly aligned with the school’s recently launched Five-Year Strategic Plan.
Students participating in the CARLOW Center for Medical Innovation pathway program will learn pre-med skills training using virtual reality scenarios overseen by Center Director Elizabeth Parga, and produced by the school’s virtual reality partner, SimX.
La Salle is the first high school to partner with SimX to build custom Medical VR training experiences for secondary students. The Carlow Center for Medical Innovation will also have numerous tools for student training, including a live tissue culture lab to support student research into immortal cell lines and cancerous cell development and a state-of-the-art 3D body scanner for prosthetics design from students in the La Salle STEAM Programs Design Lab.
“Students must have hands-on learning opportunities to prepare themselves for college, careers, and beyond,” said school President Perry Martin. “We are extremely grateful for the Carrico Family Foundation for their transformational gift, as we strive to do our part in readying the next generation of service-oriented leaders.”
The center will also strengthen the school’s relationship with Pasadena City College by providing opportunities for its students to earn college credit through dual enrollment. Students completing coursework with PCC will have opportunities to earn vocational certifications as pharmacy technicians or nursing assistants.
The Carrico Family Foundation is a private foundation established to provide grants to nonprofit organizations in the Southern Oregon area. As part of this grant, La Salle will also be partnering with St. Mary’s High School in Medford, Oregon, to bring its custom SimX Virtual Reality training program to the Oregon campus, with programming expected to launch in summer 2023.
Interested La Salle students are asked to visit the CARLOW Center on campus to sign up for the program. Prospective families may contact La Salle’s admissions office at admissions@lasallehs.org for more information.
