What is CAPS? CAPS is the Center for Advanced Professional Studies where students from around the world get to explore careers in the path they would like to study. CAPS strands include business, healthcare, and technology, where you can diversify your knowledge in your field of interest. Students have the opportunity to go on site visits, shadow jobs, hear from guest speakers, get a head start on learning for their strand (like learning medical terminology), and work on their overall professional skills. This is in place of normal school electives for 2 ½ hours a day. 

Every Wednesday healthcare CAPS students do rotations at 3 of the big hospitals, as well as other healthcare providers in the St. Louis area. Similarly, the business strand gets to do internships with businesses of their choice in order to further their knowledge in business and entrepreneurship. CAPS is a great way not only to get hands-on experience, but also to build your resume! 

CAPS as a whole is also great for the community because it encourages students to volunteer in various programs throughout the area. Healthcare students also get to volunteer with their organization of choice in place of CAPS time every second Tuesday. CAPS also hosts events for the community, like the blood drive coming up on February 6th to help make a dent in the global blood shortage. 

Overall, CAPS is a great program where students get hands-on experience in the field they are interested in, while making a positive impact on the community.