Parkland Medical Center’s Healthcare Career Expo gave students the opportunity to learn about potential medical careers and interact with various departments. Its goal was to inspire the future generation of the healthcare industry, and it has been doing so since the year prior. Over 300 students, many from Windham, learned about various aspects of the industry, including different medical careers and what each department does/how it functions.
 

“It taught me many things about all different parts of the hospital, like how your body works, how some surgeries work, and how and what some machines do,” stated Sarah Carvalho, a Freshman at Windham High School who participated in the Expo. She added that the program was very helpful in educating her and others about their potential careers. Caroline Ryan, a sophomore at Windham High School, also touched on this: “This experience taught me that there are so many more jobs in the medical field than being a doctor or a nurse. Everyone has their own extremely specific job.”
 

The process for rounding up interested students actually began the previous year. Carvalho stated that an email was sent out before the current year began. A follow-up was sent to confirm each student’s participation.
 

As far as opportunities go, Carvalho mentioned that the program offered internships for students, helping them dip their toes into the medical world through potential jobs. “It also gave me opportunities to volunteer at the hospital as well,” explained Ryan. Additionally, she stated, “This experience was extremely helpful for giving me options for potential careers, since it brought up careers that I didn’t know existed, and that I found very interesting.”
 

Furthermore, each student was very happy with their experience. Another Windham High School sophomore, Ella Glinski, added, “The process of getting into the volunteering program at Parkland was overall a positive experience; everyone was extremely helpful and responded very quickly.” She also remarked that the program had a positive, lasting effect, and that working with “kind and experienced individuals” increased her excitement about potentially entering the medical field. She finally stated that she really enjoyed being in such a “healthy environment.” When asked about their favorite parts of the program, each participant had interesting responses. The segment of the program Carvalho favored was hearing absurd stories from the hospital. Meanwhile, Glinski answered, “My favorite part of volunteering would have to be the many positive interactions I get to have with visitors.” Lastly, Ryan took an interest in learning about the respiratory portion of the program.
 

Glinski, Carvalho, and Ryan each reported the program’s positive effects on them, as previously stated by Glinski. Moreover, Carvalho noted that the experience heightened her desire to enter the medical field and learn more about it. Glinski added how the program gave her a better understanding of her potential future careers. The Healthcare Career Expo was a huge accomplishment.