As part of our commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Connecticut Children’s organized three panel discussions for high school students to learn about clinical and other healthcare careers.

Connecticut Children’s Support and Teamwork Resulting in Valuable Experiences (STRIVE) initiative organized the career panel discussions, which took place on January 23, February 6, and March 6, 2023. STRIVE is a partnership between Connecticut Children’s and Bloomfield High School (BHS) to promote future career opportunities to students. It was developed by Connecticut Children’s Research Operations and Development department to help build interest among students in healthcare careers and to increase workforce diversity at healthcare organizations.

Connecticut Children’s team members visited Bloomfield High School to share their career journeys during the panel discussions. About 40 students participated and learned about healthcare careers that align with the school’s three academic tracts, which are business/finance, healthcare, and science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). The STRIVE team tailored each panel to include an overview of corresponding careers in a healthcare system. This allowed students to learn about what it takes to prepare for a specific career and be successful in the workforce in general. Principal Jesse White facilitated each panel discussion and asked panelists to share insights, advice, challenges, and opportunities related to their careers.

As healthcare professionals, we can affirm the importance of initiatives such as STRIVE to provide adolescents with early exposure to careers at Connecticut Children’s. It also demonstrates our organization’s interest and capacity to mentor youth from diverse backgrounds, ensuring that we create a pipeline for the next generation of healthcare providers. STRIVE and Connecticut Children’s share a path of growth and development, mentor and mentee alike.

Both students and professionals provided positive feedback on the career panels. “It was very inspirational being able to provide guidance to our children. I was not afforded this opportunity as a teenager and only truly understood the inner workings of revenue cycle in healthcare as an adult,” said one Connecticut Children’s volunteer. “Therefore, this kind of mentorship and/or community outreach was very impressive. I felt proud to have been a solid contributor the day I attended.”

STRIVE is now planning to host another round of career panel discussions at Bloomfield High School in spring 2024.

Learn more about STRIVE’s inaugural job shadow event at Connecticut Children’s in 2022.

Last spring, STRIVE hosted its inaugural event in which Bloomfield High School students visited Connecticut Children’s Hartford campus to shadow healthcare professionals in areas they indicated they might want to pursue as future careers. STRIVE is planning to host its second on-site job shadow day at Connecticut Children’s for Bloomfield High School students in May 2023.

The STRIVE team is excited to continue providing students with career inspiration and a glimpse into a bright future.

Thank you to the following Connecticut Children’s team members who participated in the career panel discussions at Bloomfield High School: Amirul Anuar, MS, Shelliann Christian, Kim Davey, MBA, Susie DiVietro, PhD, Bridgett Feagin, MBA, Sarah Gedeon, MSW, Katie Hinderer, PhD, Karri May, AIA, Hendriana Nielsen, RN, Mallory Perry-Eaddy, PhD, Kimberly Roche, MD, Sara Sibley, MBA, and Lucy Stronkowsky, MBA.

The STRIVE team includes:

  • Executive Sponsors: Larry Milan and Paul Dworkin, MD
  • Program Directors: Carolyn Macica, PhD, and Garry Lapidus, PA-C
  • Senior Program Manager: Danielle Chenard, MPH
  • Administrative Project Coordinator: Rosa Rodrigues
  • Program Advocates: Luis Rivera, MSW, and Timothy Clark