PORTLAND, Ore. — A group of teens celebrated Tuesday night, after taking one step closer to a future in the medical field. For some of them, it's a future they would've never imagined just a few months ago.
“These are kids who have something special in them, that little spark,” said Terry Johnsson, VP of Mission Integration at Adventist Health Portland.
It's that spark that Johnsson and his team look for when picking two dozen kids from the Portland metro area for their Student Healthcare Leaders program. For ten weeks, the teens get a taste of what its like to work in nearly every department of the hospital, with the hope that maybe it will inspire them to work in the medical field.
“It totally delivered,” said Piper Gilpatrick, a senior at Grant High School. “I was really, really fascinated to see all the different aspects of a hospital, all the different jobs you could have.”
What makes the program unique is applicants aren’t selected based on academics. So while Clackamas senior Andy Ng has straight As—“Books, books, books, it's all books,” admits Ng—he's the exception, not the rule. Take Joceleyn Bravo, a sophomore at Springwater Trail High School in Gresham.
“I'm really proud because I would have never seen myself doing this,” said Bravo, who now wants to be a nurse. “It wouldn't have crossed my mind that I'd be here today.”
Besides the spark he spoke of, there's something else Johnsson sees in the kids: Himself.
“At 15-years-old, I had the opportunity to be here at this hospital and I had a person who was just a secretary but she took me around and introduced me to different people and she would constantly say, 'you could work in a hospital like this,'” said Johnsson. “Fast forward 25-years later and I'm here.”
The secretary who helped Johnsson was Beulah Stevens. She passed away this fall but left a legacy in Johnsson and the kids he's helping now, like Clackamas senior, Avery Birch.
“I am more excited than ever,” said Birch. “I have more knowledge and connections that will help me in the future.”
At a graduation ceremony Tuesday, each of the 24 students received a stethoscope. Johnson hopes they'll use it to listen to their own hearts when the world around them gets too noisy.
“There's this constant, ‘you can't make it, you're not good enough, you're not pretty enough,’" said Johnsson.
Tell that to the little spark that got the kids through the hospital door.
“We're hoping that will be the little spark they can carry with them forever.”
Adventist Health Portland offers its Student Healthcare Leaders program in the Spring and Fall. They'll begin taking applications for the next round in early 2020. Those interested in applying can send an e-mail to ahplshl@ah.org to be placed on a mailing list to receive information when dates and applications are available.