From the Frio to the front lines: Leakey ISD opens pathways to health careers

In a town of just over 300 people along the Frio River, students at Leakey Independent School District are beginning to see career possibilities that once felt far beyond the borders of their rural community.

Leakey ISD serves all of Real County, which has a population of about 2,760 people. The 1A district enrolls 306 students total, including 96 in high school. About 64% of students are considered economically disadvantaged, and opportunities after graduation are often shaped by geography and a seasonal economy.

“During the summer, people come here to enjoy the Frio River,” said Tracy Davis, the district’s College, Career and Military Readiness director. “By fall, they’re gone. There’s very little opportunity for careers in this community.”

Many of the local jobs in Real County are tied to small, privately owned businesses or skilled trades such as welding, plumbing and carpentry. The closest hospitals are in Kerrville (an hour away), Hondo (an hour and a half away) and San Antonio (two hours away). In major emergencies, residents often rely on medical helicopters for transport.

That distance has contributed to what Davis describes as one of the biggest barriers for his students: limited awareness of health care careers.

“The main barrier is, number one, lack of awareness, and number two, perception,” Davis said. “When I ask students what jobs they know in health care, they’ll say doctor or nurse. That’s usually it.”

Davis, who came to Leakey ISD from outside public education, was hired specifically to help students prepare for life after graduation. Early on, he noticed many students gravitated toward welding—not necessarily by choice, but because it was one of the few career pathways still available.

“I thought, what else do we have to offer these kids?” Davis said. “What can give them good-paying jobs that will be around for years and that they can take with them wherever they go?”

That question led him to health care, even though he was not sure how a small rural school could realistically offer such training. The answer came in fall 2024, when Davis received a call from Carol Brewer, director of rural medicine outreach at the Texas A&M University Naresh K. Vashisht College of Medicine.

“It was like manna from heaven,” Davis said. 

That call marked Leakey ISD’s entry into the Vashisht College of Medicine’s Rural Medicine Program and the launch of the School to Scrubs Club, an extracurricular program open to students in grades seven through 12. Once a month, a Texas A&M representative visits Leakey’s campus to introduce students to health care careers through hands-on activities, such as practicing injections on oranges or learning how to take blood pressure.

This year, Leakey ISD expanded its efforts by offering a four-year health science career cluster approved by the Texas Education Agency. The program allows students to earn industry-based certifications and prepares them for immediate employment or continued education in health-related fields.

Access to care in Leakey has expanded since the program began through the local Our Health Community Clinic, which makes future job opportunities more tangible for Leakey students. The clinic serves as a host site for Aggie medical students during their rural rotations through the college’s Rural Medicine Program. 

“There’s just an air of excitement,” Davis said. “The community sees that Leakey is offering real opportunities in careers they’ve never thought about before.”

For Davis, the Rural Medicine Program has helped shift both student expectations and community perceptions in a place where options have long felt limited by distance and size. By exposing students early to health care careers and providing a clear pathway forward, Leakey ISD is showing how even the smallest rural districts can build opportunity from within.