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When Santiago Gomez �Ӱ�ԭ��23 was in high school, he volunteered as an emergency medical technician. He loved the fast-paced nature of the work, and he enjoyed being able to help so many patients.

Now a paramedicine major at the University of New Haven, Gomez is looking forward to a career in the healthcare field. This summer, he shared his passion for the field with high school students, serving as a teaching assistant for the University�Ӱ�ԭ��s Health Professions Summer Academy.

�Ӱ�ԭ��What I enjoyed most was seeing the students find what career path they wanted to pursue,�Ӱ�ԭ�� he said. �Ӱ�ԭ��One student had never even heard of a medical laboratory scientist, and after the program, she said she wanted to become one. I hope that the students learned how much work goes into being a paramedic and how fast-paced the career is.�Ӱ�ԭ��

�Ӱ�ԭ��Expose students to a wide range of clinical and non-clinical health professions�Ӱ�ԭ��

A summer program for students entering grades 9 through 12, the academy was led by members of the University�Ӱ�ԭ��s School of Health Sciences, including students such as Gomez and faculty and staff. Students who completed the program earned three college credits �Ӱ�ԭ�� the equivalent of the University�Ӱ�ԭ��s �Ӱ�ԭ��Intro to Health Professions�Ӱ�ԭ�� course. They also earned their CPR certification through the .

As part of the program, Jessica Holzer, Ph.D., an assistant professor of health sciences, led a simulation that taught students about the spread of disease and the importance of public health professionals. Michele Smallidge, Ed.D., RD, taught students how to design and complete a fitness program.

Other University faculty members, including Michael Urban, OTD, MBA, M.S., and Laura M. Silva, M.S. CCC-SLP, taught the students about accessibility, speech and language pathology, and ethics, and they instructed them on how to take a patient�Ӱ�ԭ��s blood pressure and check a pulse.

Samantha Morales,�Ӱ�ԭ��18 MHA, interim director of the University�Ӱ�ԭ��s Master of Healthcare Administration program and internship coordinator for the School of Health Sciences directed the summer academy. She hopes the program expanded students�Ӱ�ԭ�� career interests and possibilities.

�Ӱ�ԭ��My goal with the Health Professions Summer Academy has always been to expose students to a wide range of clinical and non-clinical health professions,�Ӱ�ԭ�� she said. �Ӱ�ԭ��Oftentimes, when people think of healthcare they immediately think of a doctor or nurse. Although those professions are critical to the health and well-being of our communities, there are many other health professions that also help people.�Ӱ�ԭ��

�Ӱ�ԭ��I wish�Ӱ�ԭ��I could have attended a program like this�Ӱ�ԭ��

As part of the academy, students explored a variety of career paths in the healthcare field, including dental hygiene, public health, and nutrition and dietetics. They took part in hands-on activities, visiting and going on a scavenger hunt; learning how to take teeth impressions and radiographs in the University�Ӱ�ԭ��s Dental Hygiene Center; and making heart healthy granola bars. Using virtual reality technology, students also learned about the human body.

�Ӱ�ԭ��At the end of the week, many of the students ended up falling in love with careers that they had not heard of previously,�Ӱ�ԭ�� said Gomez. �Ӱ�ԭ��Some of them decided they wanted to pursue an entirely different career in healthcare.�Ӱ�ԭ��

The academy was also a learning opportunity for Gomez. As a teaching assistant, he coordinated with health professionals, created a page on Canvas so that students could reflect on what they learned each day, and designed the academy shirts. He says it was a hands-on opportunity to learn about the planning that such a program requires, and that it enabled him to develop his communication and organizational skills. He hopes the students learned just as much from their participation in the weeklong academy.

�Ӱ�ԭ��Programs like the Summer Health Professions Academy are important for high schoolers because they can offer them guidance they may not otherwise have had,�Ӱ�ԭ�� he said. �Ӱ�ԭ��I wish that when I was in high school, I could have attended a program like this so that I could have been more prepared for the healthcare field.�Ӱ�ԭ��