Barton Community College’s Board of Trustees took time Tuesday to congratulate students in the HOSA Future Health Professionals group who excelled at state competition and will go to HOSA’s International Leadership Conference at Indianapolis in June.
HOSA stands for Health Occupations Students of America.
Barton HOSA sponsor and Director of the Medical Laboratory Technician program Karen Gunther was joined by some of those students. Those placing at the State Leadership Conference and qualifying for the ILC in June include:
Valeria Gallardo, first place, Biotechnology; first place, Biomedical Equipment Technician; first place, Forensic Science Team.
Hannah Dapogny, first place, Clinical Nursing; first place, Pharmacology; first place, Forensic Science Team.
Haley McCormick, first place, Clinical Laboratory Science.
Kaden Baird, first place, Respiratory Therapy; first place, Occupational Safety and Health.
Aaron Deason, first place, Sports Medicine; second place, Nutrition.
Barton President Dr. Marcus Garstecki congratulated the team.“It’s always fun to celebrate the accomplishments of our students and faculty,” he said. “We’re all very proud of you.”
Criminal Justice program sees growth
Trustees also heard a report from Christian Rivas, the instructor/coordinator of Barton’s Criminal Justice Program. At the end of 2024, Rivas took part in a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the APEX Officer virtual reality (VR) system for Criminal Justice students.
“It’s been wonderful having that system,” Rivas said. Students can train in a controlled environment as they learn investigative techniques.
Classes are offered in person and online. The headcount of students taking Criminal Justice classes has grown from 69 in 2022-2023 to 129 in 2024-2025. Total credit hour generated increased from 591 in 2024-2025 to 854 in 2025-2026.
“Criminal Justice is more than law enforcement,” Rivas said. “Agencies in our service area are hiring.” Recent job openings in our area have been listed at the Barton County Sheriff’s Office, Great Bend Police Department, Hoisington Police Department, 911 Dispatch, Lyons Police Department, 20th Judicial Juvenile Services, Russell County Sheriff’s Office, Ellsworth Correctional Facility, Larned State Correctional Facility, the Kansas Department for Children and Families and the Kansas Bureau of Investigation.
According to O*NET OnLine’s Kansas occupational data, police and sheriff’s patrol officers in Kansas on average earn $56,610 and the number of job openings is expected to grow by 5%. Correctional officers and bailiffs on average earn $46,080 per year and court reporters on average earn $71,070.
