Giving High School Kids a Taste of Our Own Medicine

During the past week, we in the Communications Office have pitched in along with other departments across the Glendale Campus to help review applications for the upcoming Health Careers Institute to be held here in July. The HCI is an eight-day "camp" of sorts that allows high school students to get better acquainted with the field of medicine, the programs we offer here at Midwestern University, and avenues they can explore for future careers.

The good news about HCI is that it's popular - there are close to three times as many applications as available slots. That does, however, present a daunting logistical challenge to organize and review all of the applications in time to fill the slots and get the accepted students squared away... which is where we came in.

Helping review the applications was an educational experience, if you'll pardon the pun. We had a set of objective criteria to follow as an initial screening process, but once those hurdles were cleared the situation became subjective for each candidate. Of course, there are the candidates who were pressured to apply by parents or teachers, and their lack of interest is clearly communicated in their applications. For the rest, there is no quick "yes" or "no" judgment. Each candidate needs to be judged in the proper context; if those subjective factors are not difficult enough to balance, there is also the reviewer's reticence to quash the dreams of bright young students because of space considerations.

And let us be clear - these students are all exceptional people, or else they would not have been recommended for the program. They are in the top 10 to 20 percent of their classes, which makes the distinctions between them even more fine.

I am glad that I don't bear the responsibility of making the final decisions for who makes it and who does not. It was hard enough for me to complete the initial reviews with a semblance of objectivity. Who knows, I wondered, if this seemingly only vaguely interested candidate might experience an epiphany at MWU?

One thing I did appreciate was the reassurance that there are some outstanding young people in our schools who exude drive, passion, and commitment to bettering themselves and others. They come from big cities and small towns, from well-educated parents and parents who didn't finish high school... such a variety of backgrounds, but they share a common impulse to excel.

It will be a pleasure to host these enthusiastic, bright young minds on our campus this summer.