About a dozen recent high school graduates spent a recent Saturday talking with employees at Saint Joseph Health System and touring the Mishawaka hospital.
It’s part of Indiana University South Bend’s “Map The Gap” program, designed to guide them through personal discovery, professional development, and community connection during a “gap” year and to prepare them to develop a plan for future education, career, and life.
The students talked with people in a variety of professions – from nurses and administrators to pharmacists and security. They also toured various parts of the hospital, visiting the emergency room, pharmacy and observing an operating room during a surgery.
“Our gappers drive by this hospital every day. They may not know what goes on inside the hospital. I think hearing about the culture and that people here love to go to work every day - I think that makes it realistic for them to think about,” said Mary Jo Sartorius, IU South Bend’s Map The Gap program manager.
Through the program, “gappers” are paired with mentors from the local community. Those mentors provide guidance throughout the process. Visits to various businesses also help reveal potential careers.
Saint Joseph Health System President Chris Karam said his team was eager to talk about their career paths. He hopes it inspired some of the participants.
“Many high school graduates may not know what they want to do with their life. I didn’t know either at that age. When people think of hospitals, they think of doctors and nurses and therapists, but it’s literally a community when you’re in a health system. We have so many behind-the-scenes roles and jobs that don’t require a specialized level of education,” he said.
Karam said Saint Joseph Health System encourages employees to formulate an interest and the team guides them to that goal with training and education.
“Events like this are really an opportunity for us to reach out to the youth of our community to say there’s a place for you at Saint Joe, and we will teach you, we will help you.”
That message resonated with participants Angelina Wingo and Lynell Maxie.
“It’s been very helpful. I was having a little back-and-forth in my mind about what I want to do. Coming here today reaffirmed nursing for me,” Wingo said.
“Learning about how other people got to where they are – it was kind of crazy because none of them really wanted to be nurses or doctors at the start and they found a way into the medical field,” Maxie said.
Sartorius hopes participants were inspired by the people they met.
“Don’t let somebody else tell you can’t do something. If you believe you want to pursue a dream and that dream changes, it’s OK to change course,” she said.
Sartorius said community partners like Saint Joseph Health System are an important part of the program for both the participants and the potential employers.
“We talk a lot about networking, so from an employer perspective I think they get a chance to showcase their culture. I think that’s powerful,” she said.
Karam said they wanted to share the message that there are many career opportunities that people might not realize.
“You see 15-20 different leaders here that show up on a Saturday because they want to share their journeys and it’s important. I see the faces in the audience that are reacting because they can relate. They’re going through some of the same things that our team went through 20 years ago,” he said.
For more information on IU South Bend’s Map The Gap visit southbend.iu.edu/map-the-gap