Program at HCMC helps young people gain experience in health care field
MINNEAPOLIS -- Hospitals are a place that many try to avoid, but a group of high school students are gaining experience in the health care field that they hope to take with them in their future careers.
"I have been interested in healthcare since I was a little girl," explained Makenzie Manuel, an HCMC Talent Garden Intern.
Manuel says it was her family doctor who set her on this path. The Richfield grad isn't a nurse yet - but she has full hospital access.
"When I got to shadowing the NICU, that opened up my eyes a lot I think do instead of doing the PICU, I want to do the NICU. I love kids and babies," she said.
And that's exactly why a hand-selected group of high-achieving teens is getting this access - to figure out what exactly they want to do.
Neenah Kahira from Albertville is deep in the Emergency Department.
"I even got to go to the stabe room and I have never seen blood or bones sticking out. Being exposed to so many people who need attention," Kahira said.
Musab Mohamed, who's about to be pre-med at Madison, is learning the ins and out of critical cardiac care. Musab got inspired by watching his mother get diabetes care; his interest is now full-on.
"It just really solidified my interest more," he said.
Sydney Rupert from Minneapolis is doubling down too on her mission of working in surgery too.
"I definitely want to be someone and a person of color getting into these higher positions and showing people that they can do it," she said. "Especially at Hennepin Healthcare, the majority of people are of color, from different places, a lot of immigrants, a lot of different languages spokes so I think if we can get more people of color who actually represent the patient, it will just help healthcare."
The program is called HCMC Talent Garden. The goal is to plant seed on interest in youth of color to pursue healthcare.
There are two Talent Garden day-long summits in October and December - they need donors and volunteers. To learn more, click here.