Excel with PowerAutomat vs List with automation

So I manage a spreadsheet of nursing students coming into our healthcare system. I update it manually when a student name is added to a rotation in ACEMAPP (our web based student management solution) and I change the status in the spreadsheet to “Approved” when the student has completed their onboarding to be onsite. I am trying to get the spreadsheet to email the Unit Contact to let them know 1) when a student name is added 2) when the status is approved, so they don’t always have to just go check it for changes. I was talking to our SharePoint person and she said I should use Lists instead of trying to learn PowerAutomate for the spreadsheet in Excel. Thoughts? I am a masters prepared nurse who manages incoming healthcare students, but I do a lot of data management and would love to create a living database like this to track our over 3000 students per year. Basically feel free to dumb it down for me, but I am a quick learner with a deep interest in data analysis and management (currently looking at adding an MBA in Project Management to my letters).