Imagine posing for photos with the CEO of one of the top five children’s hospitals in the country as an undergraduate. That’s precisely what happened for a group of 16 CHHS students taking part in a half-day site visit to Children’s National Health System (Washington, D.C.) during Career Services’ Health and Science Industry Week at George Mason University.
To hear first-hand about health-related career paths, students from across CHHS departments and majors spoke with a panel of health professionals from the Child Health Advocacy Institute at Children’s that included the following experts: public health data analyst lead for the Child Health Data Lab; manager of government affairs; community health track pediatric resident; community education specialist; and public health graduate intern.
Iana Clarence (CHHS Health Administration and Policy alumna, BS Health Administration ’14) acted as host for the day. Clarence is the Program Coordinator for Community Health and Advocacy Education within Children National’s Child Health Advocacy Institute. Her goal for the visit was to ensure that students walked away with first-hand advice on the diverse career paths they can pursue and learn how they can apply the many skills they will develop while students at CHHS. (Read the Alumni Spotlight featuring Iana Clarence.)
Kolachi Oparanozie (CHHS Global and Community Health student, BS Community Health ’22) attended the site visit and valued learning about Children’s efforts to educate the surrounding community and seeing the nutrition classes first-hand. “I like the fact that [Children’s] has a class where people can learn proper nutrition and what foods to put into their bodies. I enjoyed the whole tour of the hospital, it was very interesting for me because I got to observe what a Children's hospital looks like,” says Oparanozie.
“The students were excited to meet a wide range of health professionals and to gain insight into what jobs might fit their interests and talents,” says Caroline Ramirez-Gaston, industry advisor for health and science at University Career Services. “Site visits are just one of the many ways Career Services helps students expand and utilize their network to lead students into career options that align with their skills and their values.”
The day included a tour of several departments including the Children’s Health Center, the Child and Adolescent Protection Center, Diabetes Care Complex and Seacrest Studios-- an interactive studio where children can participate in the production of radio and television programming delivered to patients’ rooms.