A Workforce Pathway Taking Shape in Western North Carolina
By Michelle Fiscus, Senior VP & Chief Communications Officer
A school email about a healthcare research opportunity caught Bennany Vasquez-Gutierrez’s attention almost immediately.
At the time, the Watauga High School junior was interested in healthcare, but she had never worked in a professional setting or participated in research tied to real families and real systems. Through interviews with the RISE Caldwell–Watauga program—the Regional Initiative for Skilled Employment—she eventually joined Appalachian State University’s 3 Moves Ahead NC project as a student apprentice.
Now, part of her work involves researching developmental milestones in children from birth to age three—tracking motor, hearing, visual, and communication development, and identifying the signs parents should watch for when something may not be progressing normally.
Vasquez-Gutierrez is part of a small workforce cohort connected to Appalachian State University’s Growing Well developmental clinic and Dr. Gavin Colquitt’s broader NCInnovation-supported project, which is focused on building a scalable platform to help families identify and respond to early developmental delays sooner in children under 3 years of age.
As that work expands, the need extends beyond the technology itself. Families also need accessible information, clearer pathways, and people who understand how to navigate systems that can often feel overwhelming. The student cohort is helping build some of those support structures in parallel through research and resource development intended for families across Western North Carolina.
The cohort operates through RISE Caldwell–Watauga, a regional workforce initiative designed to connect students to apprenticeships, internships, and career pathways in fields including healthcare. The program works with high school students, community colleges, and regional partners to create earlier workforce pathways and hands-on career experience opportunities. Students can enter the pathway while still in high school and continue building experience through community college and university partnerships.
“This is the first time we’ve built something like this with a community college,” said Bryan Belcher, Director of the Interprofessional Clinic at Appalachian State. “We’re creating a pathway where students don’t have to wonder what comes next—they’re already in it.”
Together, RISE Caldwell–Watauga, Caldwell Community College & Technical Institute, and Appalachian State University are building earlier connections between students, hands-on experience, and healthcare-related careers.
The work the students are doing is highly specific—and deeply practical.
Some students are mapping support and play groups across Western North Carolina. Others are breaking down how Children’s Developmental Services Agencies work—who qualifies, how referrals happen, and where families are supposed to go next when they need help.
Vasquez-Gutierrez’s focus is developmental milestones—breaking down what parents should expect during the first three years of life and helping identify when additional support may be needed.
“We assign topics, and they build out tools families can actually use,” said Rebecca Sousa, program coordinator for 3 Moves Ahead NC. “They’re helping parents navigate systems that can be really difficult to understand.”
The work is remote, structured around weekly check-ins, video calls, and independent research. Students manage their own schedules around school, balancing coursework with responsibilities tied to a real-world project expected to serve families throughout the region.
For Vasquez-Gutierrez, the project carries a different level of responsibility than a typical school assignment.
“Nearly all of the projects I’ve completed for school were looked over, graded, and never looked at again,” she said. “This project—this research—that I’m doing will be used by families all over Western North Carolina.”
Students are contributing to active work connected to developmental support resources for families across rural Western North Carolina. And in the process, many are discovering what working in those spaces actually requires.
“It’s made me more aware of what working is actually like,” Vasquez-Gutierrez said. “Doing things you sometimes might not want to do, but doing it anyway because it’s my responsibility and I wanted this.”
The experience has also exposed her to challenges many families quietly carry every day.
“I started to realize how big this part of their lives are, not just for the child, but for the parents too,” she said. “To be unsure of whether their child is developing correctly, if they’re getting worse or better, and feeling unable to access the help their child may need.”
That realization is shaping how she sees the work—and her future.
Vasquez-Gutierrez said she was also personally drawn to the project because of her own experience with a speech disorder growing up. She wanted to use what she and her family learned navigating that process to help other families facing similar uncertainty.
“I’m not only an apprentice for 3 Moves Ahead, I’m a RISE Apprentice,” she said. “I think this is a wonderful program because it allows eager students to start applying what they know in fields they are truly passionate about and gain valuable experience that will allow them to step confidently into a career.”