G. Ray Bodley’s Early College High School health sciences program recently concluded another exciting summer of hands-on learning in partnership with several local organizations. Since June, rising sophomores, juniors, and seniors have completed more than 700 hours of job shadowing experience.

The health science program – which combines college-level courses and advanced curriculum to prepare students for a career within the medical field – recently concluded its fourth year. Early College High School is affiliated with Cayuga Community College, where students earn college credits throughout the program.

This summer, 71 students shadowed professionals at Oswego Health, Fulton Medical Center, and Upstate Hospital in Syracuse. Though primarily composed of students from Fulton’s GRB High, Mexico and Hannibal High Schools also participate.

“Once again, our district and school community should be extremely proud of our early college high school students,” said Sean Broderick, the program’s coordinator. “We talk all the time about the importance of being present and our students were truly engaged in these job shadowing opportunities.”

Student experiences varied wildly, depending largely on their areas of interest. While some shadowed professionals in women’s services, oncology, orthopedics, or even the emergency department, others visited primary care, speech therapy or physical therapy.

“I want to be an ER doctor somewhere at a big hospital,” said rising sophomore Eli Johnson, who spent time this summer shadowing at Oswego Health. “This experience has taught me a lot of things and shown me the type of personality you need to have to be a doctor.”

“It’s all around really fun,” noted Kelsi Watkins, another rising sophomore, as she recounted the benefits of her summer courses and shadowing experiences. “I like the opportunities we have in this program. They allow me to be really well-rounded.”

“We enjoyed having these Early College Health Science students shadow throughout our different departments,” added Marq Brown, Oswego Health’s Vice President of Human Resources. “Through this program, they get to explore different healthcare specialties helping these students narrow down a career pathway in healthcare. Building and maintaining these pipelines with our local schools is critical to the future of healthcare in our community.”