In small-town America, the opportunity to dive into a new career can be limited.
Resources can be scant and post-secondary education, though now offered extensively online, can be difficult to obtain.
Satellite schools, like Crowder’s Cassville campus and Drury’s campus in Monett, offer opportunities for an in-class education not readily available in many areas of similar size.
Two stories in this week’s paper show Cassville, small as it may be, has a couple opportunities locally through Crowder that deserve more than a mention.
A couple weeks ago, the South Barry County Hospital District Board awarded $60,000 to Crowder Cassville, bolstering a long-standing partnership between the organizations that contribute greatly to both of their successes.
The funds will go toward the campus’ simulation lab, updating equipment to give students the most realistic challenges in a simulation setting.
System-wide, Crowder admits up to 150 nursing students each year who aim to be part of the nearly 200,000 nursing graduates nationwide annually, the No. 2 college major overall, behind only business.
Students who attend Crowder Cassville for nursing have in-person classes in town and rarely even have to leave the bi-county area for clinicals. The partnership with Mercy allows students to complete their studies largely at Mercy Cassville and Mercy Aurora.
One of those students is Jessica Banks, a 2001 Cassville graduate and 2014 Crowder Cassville graduate employed at Mercy Cassville.
Her story is a testament to how local partnerships and education opportunities benefit traditional and non-traditional students alike. Furthermore, the opportunity for our little slice of the Ozarks to produce well-educated, homegrown professionals will go a long way into securing the future of industry in the area.
Along with the career opportunities in healthcare, Crowder also offers education in firefighting. While firefighting is not very high-ranking on the list of majors nationally, the effects of Crowder’s Firefighter 1 and 2 certifications run deep.
Derek Acheson, newly named chief of the Cassville Volunteer Fire Protection District, is a product of the program, and now teaches at it. Promoted from assistant chief, Acheson’s new No. 2 is also certified from — you guessed it — Crowder Cassville.
There’s not many better examples of the impact Crowder can have in small towns, as Acheson and Reibert are both Cassville graduates and now serve together as area leaders in firefighting and fire education.
Cassville has 26 firefighters, all of whom are volunteer, and at least 18 hold Firefighter 1 and 2 certifications. Not only does this help Cassville provide the best service it can, but it also helps the District remain volunteer through greater access to grants where certified staff are weighed heavily.
In a decade of covering Cassville schools, it’s clear our students tend to stick close to home. Missouri State, Missouri Southern, Drury and Crowder are the most frequent future schools for Cassville graduates, and many who go there or venture further tend to find their way back to southwest Missouri.
The impact these graduates have on their communities cannot be understated, and much of that impact is thanks to the opportunities provided through local partnerships that breed homegrown professionals.
All agencies involved in this effort deserve a round of thanks, and I hope to see similar endeavors in the future.
Kyle Troutman has served as the editor of the Cassville Democrat since 2014 and became Publisher in 2023. He was named William E. James/Missouri Outstanding Young Journalist for daily newspapers in 2017, and he won a Golden Dozen Award from ISWINE in 2022. He may be reached at 417-847-2610 or ktroutman@cassville-
democrat.com.
“There’s not many better examples of the impact Crowder can have in small towns, as Acheson and Reibert are both Cassville graduates and now serve together as area leaders in firefighting and fire education.”
