WesternU’s Health Career Ladder summer programs introduce youth to health professions
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Western University of Health Sciences’ Center for Academic Community Engagement hosted a series of dynamic programs designed to inspire local youth to explore health professions careers.
Through hands-on experiences in the Veterinary Medicine Summer Camp, Glow & Grow: A Week of Skin Science, and Health Professions Week, students in grades 6–12 had the opportunity to learn directly from health care professionals, student doctors, and mentors June 9-13, 2025. Each program was tailored to specific grade levels and offered unique activities in various health care fields.
- Glow and Grow Summer Camp students create a UV bracelet. (Jeff Malet, WesternU)
Glow & Grow: A Week of Skin Science provided 25 middle school students with the opportunity to explore skin layers and culture skin microbes, conduct UV exposure experiments and skin care and pH testing, and learn about acne treatments, dry skin care, and vitiligo, facilitated by College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific (COMP) students Kimiya Banai and Fatima Ghacham, who are members of the WesternU Dermatology Interest Group (DIG).
DIG has led dermatology lessons for elementary school students in the past, but those were one-day events, Banai said. For this weeklong course, Banai and Ghacham turned to American Academy of Dermatology PowerPoint slides as inspiration, then added topics they hoped would spark the interest of middle schoolers.
“The topics we want to talk about are the most beneficial for this age group, things we as kids didn’t learn about – dandruff, hair growth, sunscreen protection, layers of the skin and how bacteria and germs spread through the skin,” Banai said. “I personally wanted to teach them about acne and skin care, which is such a big thing for this age group on social media. They are buying a lot of unnecessary skin products, influenced by people online. We want to educate them more on what they’re consuming online and show them that all those products are not necessarily needed.”
- College of Optometry student Jani Hartounian teaches Health Professions students about conducting a vision screening. (Jeff Malet, WesternU)
Health Professions Week provided 23 high school students with hands-on activities across several disciplines, such as podiatric medicine (biopsy, knot tying, tissue staining), pharmacy (prescription activity), optometry (vision screening), nursing (vital signs), and osteopathic medicine (abscess models, bacteria growing, abscess drainage). The workshops were facilitated by the following student doctors: Carrissa Smith and Thomas Mast (College of Podiatric Medicine); Alejandro Castrellon Arteaga, Caitlin Nicole Mallari, and Kemisha Her (College of Pharmacy); Nadeene Al-Azzam and Trina Nguyen (College of Optometry); Kristy Le (College of Graduate Nursing); and Alexandra Quinones and Brandon Valadez (COMP).
Glendora High School senior Nathan Lopez said Health Professions Week was engaging and more diverse than he expected.
“I wanted to learn more about health careers and find out what pathway I want to go in personally,” Nathan said in response to why he attended the session. “I just like science in particular. I think with how diverse it is (the health professions), there is an option for just about anyone.”
- CVM students Johanna Diederichs and David Tran (back row, wearing blue) with the Veterinary Medicine Summer Camp students. (Jeff Malet, WesternU)
Veterinary Medicine Summer Camp provided 15 high school students with hands-on learning conducting physical exams, suture labs, feed label education, and large animal handling, including interacting with two llamas and a pony. The camp was facilitated by College of Veterinary Medicine students David Tran and Johanna Diederichs and CVM Veterinary Anatomy Instructor Ken Noriega.
“The main point of this is to get them interested in veterinary medicine,” said CVM student Johanna Diederichs. “This is a really good way to give first-hand experience and give advice about the steps you might need to take to pursue this profession and the challenges you might face.”
These free programs not only gave students valuable exposure to health care careers but also provided mentorship and networking opportunities. Students connected with health care professionals, mentors, and peers, building relationships and gaining insights that will help guide their future paths in the health professions. The programs fostered curiosity, confidence, and a deeper interest in becoming the next generation of healthcare leaders, all in a supportive and engaging environment.
