Day 22: Teaching Professions/Health Tech Satellites featured on NBC4 news

Editor's Note: This story appeared on NBC 4 Columbus and NBC4i.com on Monday, February 22nd.  Changes were made to accurately reflect that the program is being taught by Ohio Hi-Point Career Center Satellite students, who attend the program at Marysville High School.
 MARYSVILLE, Ohio—Sometimes hearing from one of your peers can make all the difference, even if they’re a bit older. 
That’s the idea behind a new program in Union County. 
Teenagers from Ohio Hi-Point Career Center/Marysville High School are volunteering their time for the program called “5-4-3-2-1-Go! Take off Union County!“  The teens talk to 4th and 5th graders about healthy foods and actually let them taste the foods. Students at Northwood Elementary School tasted fruit and vegetables Monday afternoon. 
Some of them made funny faces when they ate the radishes.  “I didn’t like the radish because it burnt my tongue and it was kind of spicy,“ said Anna Weigand, a 10-year old 4th grader.  She liked the Kiwi though and plans to share that new discovery with her family.  “First, I’ll tell them I found a different fruit and that I want to keep eating it more and I’ll also tell them that I learned more ways how maybe if I don’t like fruit, how to mix it with other fruit to
like it.“ 
Shalyn Cantleberry is one of the student teachers.  She says she is in the nursing program at Ohio Hi-Point Career Center's Satellite in Marysville High School and she likes kids.  She says what the kids learn is more important if the whole family participates. “It makes the kid more happy and it’ll make the whole family more healthy.“  She says they’re also trying to teach the kids to drink more water and watch less television. 
Memorial Hospital of Union County received a $25,000 grant from the Ohio Hospital Association’s Foundation for Healthy Communities. It was awarded to only
four hospitals in Ohio and is being used to provide materials to train local teen leaders and future health care professionals.  The money purchases refrigerated cases for school cafeterias and interactive exercise equipment. 
The goal is to teach and reinforce healthy lifestyles among all children, not just those who are obese or at-risk for obesity.  Families opt-in to the program and so far about half of the 1000 4th and 5th graders in Union County have signed up.