MILWAUKEE — Angelina Kielman and her classmates spent time during an anatomy class making a poster of the chemical synapse. She’s a junior at Vincent High School in the Milwaukee Public School district.

What You Need To Know

  • Milwaukee Public School students can work toward becoming a Certified Nursing Assistant and Licensed Practical Nurse while still in high school

  • It's thanks to a partnership called the M-Cubed College Connection Program

  • The partnership is between MPS, Milwaukee Area Technical College and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

  • Sophomores in high school can apply for the program and start the summer before their junior year

She and her classmates are working toward becoming Certified Nursing Assistants (CNA) and are on their way to becoming Licensed Practical Nurses (LPN) — all while still in high school.

“The main reason mostly was because I wanted to go in the medical field, I just didn’t know where, and I thought it was a great opportunity to get more experience in it,” Kielman said.

She and her classmates have been taking high school classes and these college classes since last summer as part of the M-Cubed College Connection Program. It’s a partnership between MPS, Milwaukee Area Technical College (MATC) and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

As Kielman has learned, it’s a lot of work.

“[It’s] challenging because you have to go to school, still in high school. You get half days, but you still have to come here and do everything. And then we had clinical last semester, so we’d be there until like 9 p.m.,” Kielman said.

Christal Thorpe is now a senior at Ronald Reagan High School. Thorpe has finished up all of her high school credits, and now only focuses on her classes at MATC.

She became a CNA when she was 16 thanks to the program and is now working toward becoming an LPN. In addition to her classes at MATC, she’s also working in a hospital.

“Being a CNA, you’re making good money, so instead of me having a job, going to McDonald’s having to work every day, I can work three days a week and be financially good and getting a good pay rate,” Thorpe said.

Thorpe said she’s not done with schooling, either. While she can stay an LPN, she wants to continue on and become a registered nurse, and then go further and become an anesthesiologist.

She said she couldn’t pass up this opportunity to get some of this schooling for free.

“It’s like, take it or miss it,” Thorpe said. “I’m taking it right now, I’m taking advantage, and I’m ready to succeed.”

Those interested in the program can visit the M-cubed College Connections Program page on the MPS website.

Related Stories