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My name is Kristy Ghrist. I am the Health Science 1, 2, 3, 4-Clinical Studies and Advanced Clinical instructor for our Health Science Program at Aiken High School. I am the HOSA chapter Advisor, Interact Club Sponsor and Red Cross Club Sponsor.

HOSA is an organization where students build leadership skills and compete in a multitude of healthcare-related events. We get to travel, compete, learn and have a great time. Interact is a volunteer club that lives by the motto: service above self and engages in community involvement. The Red Cross Club engaes in volunteer services and provides education to elementary and middle school students and brings awareness to emergency preparedness. 

I graduated from University of South Carolina Aiken with my bachelor’s degree in Nursing and graduated with my Masters in Nursing Education from Grand Canyon University. I am currently working on my Doctorate in Educational Leadership and Healthcare Administration at Aspen University. My journey in the healthcare field started directly after high school graduation as a Certified Nursing Assistant. I fell in love with geriatrics and dedicated 10 years to the geriatric field. I also worked in oncology nursing, school nursing, medical-surgical nursing, and teaching the EKG and A&P course at Helm's College. 

I took the reins of starting our Health Science program in the 2020-2021 school year. Our program started small but has continued to grow tremendously over the last several years. This is one of my favorite journeys I have been on. Teaching is by far my absolute favorite! I have a strong passion for teaching and love watching the students grow and learn throughout the program. When I tell people how much I love my job and all the cool things we do...the common question is..."How is that even a job?"

My philosophy for teaching is to reach all learners regardless of abilities and engage them using a multifaceted approach. This ensures all learning styles are met. We explore many hands-on activities and reflect on our work on a weekly basis. I have chosen this approach because it has proven to be effective in my classroom and I realized that every student learns in a different way.

In December of 2018, I joined the Aiken High School family as a school Nurse. AHS has been, by far, an incredible experience. When given the opportunity to transition to the Health Science teacher, I felt beyond blessed! Teaching has always been one of my greatest passions, but to have the opportunity to engage in both passions, nursing and education- I am beyond excited.

When not at AHS, you will find me camping, kayaking, hiking or hanging out with my children or scouts. We love taking family adventures. I am a scoutmaster for the girls BSA Troop 7G and an Associate Advisor for Crew 7 scouts. If it is in the outdoors- I love it!!!