PA Student Success at PAEA’s 2025 Education Forum
This year at PAEA’s Education Forum in San Diego, 12 volunteers visited local schools to encourage young students to consider the PA profession as a career. Our volunteers from PA programs across the US lead over 180 students through engaging presentations, sharing personal and professional stories, including their pathway to the PA profession.
“Students were buzzing and telling all of their friends about this amazing career field that most didn’t know anything about prior to the panel” said Chantal Crompton, college and career readiness and AVID counselor from O’Farrell Charter School.
PAEA’s PA Student Pass (PASS) is a recruitment program that aims to encourage K-12 students to consider the PA profession as a career; it is our belief that early exposure to healthcare professions allows children to grow up with such ambition. Our primary goal is to increase the number of qualified PAs across the country, provide primary care, and increase the overall health of the growing patient population. We aim to help students become competitive candidates for PA programs by preparing them early in their education.
Every year at PAEA’s Education Forum, PASS coordinates volunteers to present to students at local schools. Many volunteers return to work with PASS at the Forum year after year. Melecia Helwig-Henson, MSPAS, PA-C, an assistant clinical professor at Townson University’s PA program joined us for the third time and shared how “each year offers an exhilarating and unique opportunity to introduce students to the field of PA studies and advocate for our profession. I absolutely love seeing the students’ faces light up as they develop an interest in learning more.”
While no two presentations are exactly alike as each volunteer brings their unique perspective and experiences to share with students, PASS. provides a slide deck that details how students can best prepare to apply to PA school and general knowledge about the profession. This includes a list of common pre-requisites, average PA salary data, and even a brief history of how the PA profession came to be. Volunteers are encouraged to bring swag items to give away to students who ask questions to encourage engagement with the presentation.
A first time PASS volunteer, program director at Acadia University’s PA program, Erin Wolf, stated “Programs like PASS are vital to strengthening the future of our profession by broadening access, fostering early awareness, and cultivating the diversity and compassion that define the PA community. I’m proud to support this mission and the next generation of future PAs who will go on to serve our communities with excellence and empathy.”
Current PA students can also get involved by championing events in coordination with their PA program or through the PASS Student-Led Competition. Starting in 2021, this annual competition evaluates which PA program can host the most innovative, engaging, and sustainable student-led event with the most significant impact during PA Week. Last year, over 400 PA students from 31 PA programs reached a record of 93 K-12 schools.
The 2025 PASS Student-Led Competition just wrapped, and out of 34 participating PA programs, the University of Iowa’s was crowned the winner of the Brenda Jasper PA Student Success Award. Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences in Boston came in second place, and the University of Dubuque came in third. While only three programs are awarded, the impact of the exemplary student leaders who volunteered their time to shape the next generation of PAs is immeasurable.
If you are interested in volunteering with PASS, there’s no need to wait until PAEA’s 2026 Education Forum to get involved. The PASS Toolkit provides an event outline to give you a sense of the logistical steps required to host an event, a slide deck for your presentation, and resources designed for a variety of age groups, some in both English and Spanish.
If you have any questions regarding PASS, please contact pass@PAEAonline.org.
