Maria Ibanez didn’t like school much when she was younger.
But, after three years in a Crispus Attucks High School fellowship program, the IU Indianapolis student has a plan. She’s a freshman now — taking a full schedule of college classes and working part time as a patient care assistant with IU Health.
“I didn’t see myself doing a lot,” Ibanez said. “Now, I’m in college pursuing higher education, something that my family hasn’t done.”
Ibanez was a part of the first class to graduate from Crispus Attucks’ IU Health High School Fellowship Program last year. The program began in 2021 to help students like Ibanez see themselves in health careers. And, to help the health industry build a workforce reflective of the people they serve.
Studies show implicit bias among health care providers tends to skew in favor of white patients and against people of color, affecting everything from interactions with providers, treatment decisions and patient health outcomes. Yet, Indianapolis is diverse and IU Health’s ranks are overwhelmingly white.
That’s why program leaders say it’s important to partner with Attucks and create opportunities for students of color to enter the health care industry.About 62% of students enrolled at Crispus Attucks this year are Black, according to data from the state education department. More than 30% are Hispanic. And, nearly everyone admitted to the fellowship this year is a student of color.
“It’s a partnership between IU Health and IPS that started with IU Health wanting to kind of fill gaps in their workplace and do it in a meaningful way,” said Elizabeth Casalini, a program manager with Indianapolis Public Schools. “It not only benefits patients, but also our local community.”
It also comes at a time when state officials are doubling down on work-based learning. The educational approach encourages students to pursue firsthand job training early on, and it’s the cornerstone of new high school graduation requirements approved in December.
“We really are looking at them exploring and growing as human beings,” Casalini said. “Many of our older fellows — our seniors and graduated fellows — they talk about how they built their communication skills and confidence in themselves more than they expected and how that’s really made a difference in what they felt comfortable pursuing.”
Connecting students to careers
It begins freshman year. Attucks students prepare an application with multiple reference letters and then interview for a spot in the fellowship. Program coordinators look for students who are interested in health care and show a curiosity to learn.
In the three years that follow, students take classes at their high school aligned with medical careers. They earn dual credits for some of their classes through a partnership with Ivy Tech. And, they meet twice a month after school for leadership training and networking with health care professionals.
By the time they graduate, students can earn certified nursing assistant and certified clinical medical assistant credentials, which prepares them to work with other nurses and physicians to handle administrative tasks or provide bedside care. That puts them on a fast track to better paying jobs after high school.
Myisha Strickland, whose twin nephews Jaydyn and Jordyn Graham were accepted into the program this year, said the teens were so excited for the opportunity that they submitted three letters of recommendation instead of the required two.
Jaydyn thinks he might want to be a pharmaceutical scientist, and Jordyn wants to be a neurosurgeon. Both say they want to learn more about how doctors go about their jobs day to day and how they communicate with patients.
“I would like to see how doctors operate,” Jordyn Graham said. “I want to see how they talk to people, like what do they do to get people comfortable around them?”
Experiencing health care firsthand
Attucks has a long history of preparing students for careers in health care.
In 2006, IPS officials established a medical magnet program at the school due in part to its proximity to the downtown IU Health medical campus.
The school has offered courses related to health care for many years, Casalini said, but the more recent IU Health fellowship takes things a step further.
As fellows, students complete two paid summer internships in IU Health facilities, and a senior year externship. Students might spend a week in a hospital or clinic, for example, to learn about patient care. Then, they might spend time with the IU Health Foundation to learn about business and philanthropy.
It offers students like Jaydyn and Jordyn a view of that day-to-day practice they’re craving while also helping other students discover their interests among the many career paths in health care.
“They’re exposed to roles that they’ve never heard of,” Casalini said. “We usually end up with a number of students who are really excited about radiology and ultrasound and things like that because they’ve never considered those, they’ve never seen those.”
Those experiences helped Ibanez shape her career goals. The IU Indy student hopes to earn her doctorate some day and work in medical research. It all stemmed from her sophomore year internship.
“We did business, research and a clinical rotation,” Ibanez said. “For me, it was the clinical and research side that got me very interested.”
Students also get support through IU Health’s Mosaic Center, which offers job training for diverse youth and adults looking to enter the health care industry.
Each Crispus Attucks fellow is guaranteed a job with IU Health after high school graduation. Program leaders, though, say they’re just as excited to help students navigate collegiate programs if they’d like to pursue more specialized training.
And then there’s students like Ibanez who chose both. She works as a patient care assistant.
“I’m there from Friday to Saturday,” she said, “and work 12-hour shifts and then on the weekdays, I’ll study and go to classes.”
A new fellowship class celebrated
Ibanez took a break from a busy week of finals in early May to return to Crispus Attucks.
That morning, Attucks welcomed 32 new students into the IU Health fellowship with a white coat ceremony. The event is traditionally practiced in higher education to signify the beginning of a student’s medical training. It’s something unusual to see in a high school.
“We wanted them to know that this is something special,” Casalini said. “We wanted to start building that sense of community.”
The students were celebrated by notable figures — IPS Superintendent Aleesia Johnson and IU Health CEO Dennis Murphy — who spoke to the importance of increasing representation in health care so that providers look more like the patients they take care of.
“This program for IU Health is intended very intentionally to widen our pipeline of diverse people who are going to work in health care,” Murphy told students. “It’s an investment in the future for us — not just for IU Health, but for all of you and for the state of Indiana.”
The ceremony held a special weight for Ibanez. She still remembers receiving her crisp lab coat four years ago in a tent in her school’s parking lot — a pivot due to the major health story of her high school career: COVID-19.
This year, however, she was there to celebrate someone else’s first steps into health care — her sister’s.
“I saw her receive this,” said her sister, Regina Ibanez, as she donned her own white coat. “I know she met a bunch of people that really helped her out during the program. She got to experience many things, and I know it benefited her later on when she graduated Attucks.”
Like her sister, Regina thinks she could see herself in medicine long term. She’s interested in learning about the neonatal intensive care unit, where the sickest babies usually go. But, she’s also open to trying new things.
“I’m exploring right now,” Regina said. “I know that a bunch of people’s career path always changes. It’s not always the same.”
Mirror Indy, a nonprofit newsroom, is funded through grants and donations from individuals, foundations and organizations.
Mirror Indy reporter Carley Lanich covers early childhood and K-12 education. Contact her at carley.lanich@mirrorindy.org or follow her on X @carleylanich.
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
