Nineteen rising high school juniors and seniors spent their summer participating in the immersive 2024 High School Health Careers Program at UMass Chan Medical School.
The four-week, tuition-free program is for high achieving high school students from economically and educationally disadvantaged backgrounds. The program exposes the students to health care careers at an early stage in their academic development and encourages them to consider futures in health care and science.
“In just four short weeks, we see growth, both academically as well as socially. We focus on them getting along, building teams and learning to work together. Those are all things that are important for medical students,” said Robert E. Layne, MEd, assistant dean for outreach programs and the curriculum coordinator of the High School Health Careers Program.
“We actually get calls from some of their guidance counselors saying they see a difference in the students’ caliber and the way they’re interacting with some of their peers,” Layne added.
Most of the students attend high schools nearby, including 11 students enrolled in public high schools in Worcester.
Stacy Domingo, a rising junior at South High Community School, wants to become a neurologist. Domingo said being able to help her sister, who has cerebral palsy, is one of the key factors in her educational journey.
“The High School Health Careers Program is preparing me for my future and is showing me what I can accomplish. Working alongside other high achievers is the best motivation,” Domingo said.
For the program’s duration, the students stay in dormitories at Worcester State University on weeknights and return home each weekend.
On campus at UMass Chan, the students are challenged daily in academic settings, including intensive SAT preparation and learning about contemporary issues in health care. The students are required to complete a health disparities research project on a cultural group in Massachusetts. The students also visited the LifeFlight air ambulance at UMass Memorial Medical Center.
Each day ends with a guest speaker, a health care professional or scientist discussing issues relevant to pursuing an education and career in medicine, with topics including “Admission to medical school,” “Financing a medical education,” and “Journey to MD/PhD,” as well as specific areas of study such as public health, data collection and palliative care.
Ike Asiegbunam is a rising senior at Taunton High School. He said he became excited to apply for the program after learning about it from his cousin who had previously participated.
“I heard a lot of amazing things about the program. It helped my cousin figure out a path for his future career and that’s what I’m here for,” Asiegbunam said. “I want to learn more about cancer biomedical engineering. I want to figure out if I could help make prosthetics for cancer.”
The High School Health Careers Program is overseen by Layne and Brian Lewis, PhD, the George F. Booth Chair in the Basic Sciences, professor of molecular, cell & cancer biology, associate dean for diversity and pre-matriculation programs for the Morningside Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, and assistant vice provost for outreach and recruitment for UMass Chan.
The program’s graduation ceremony will be held July 26, where the students will receive certificates of completion and awards will be presented for the three best health disparities research presentations.
Applications for the 2025 summer program open in the fall.
The following student participates in the 2024 High School Health Careers Program:
Brianni Acosta Montero, North High School ’26
Ike Asiegbunam, Taunton High School ’25
Yashfa Bashir, Doherty Memorial High School ’26
Isabella Costa, Tahanto Regional High School ’26
Stacy Domingo, South High Community School ‘26
Brittany Estrada Gonzalez, Fitchburg High School ’25
James Mihn Ha, Saint John's High School ’25
Jaidyn Koduah, Abby Kelly Foster Charter Public School ’26
Karen Koranteng, Abby Kelly Foster Charter Public School ’26
Lela Lahyani, Boston Latin School ’26
Jailene Matias, Doherty Memorial High School ’25
Tracy Nguyen, North High School ‘25
Peter Nyguen, South High Community School ’26
Jaysey Ortiz, North High School ’26
Mameyaa Owuau, Abby Kelly Foster Charter Public School ’26
Kayla Quintanilla, Abby Kelly Foster Charter Public School ’26
Makayla Roche, Excel Academy High School ’25
Julia Ruco, Auburn High School ’25
Kavin Udayaprakash, Shrewsbury High School ’25
