High-school students explore career opportunities through Mayor’s program

By Ryan Daugherty

This summer, 35 high-school students took part in the 2015 Mayor’s Intern Fellows Program working at UT Southwestern Medical Center. The program is an eight-week paid student internship that allows selected interns to work in different offices and departments around campus.

Kadrian Oliver, a senior at Woodrow Wilson High School, spent her summer in the Office of Communications, Marketing, and Public Affairs, where she helped to create a system for digital asset management.

“Basically what I’m doing is gathering all of the photos together, and I’m organizing them into a really basic taxonomy that has been set up,” she said. “We just selected a digital asset management vendor, and we’re planning on making a system where people can find photos of doctors very easily with the software.”

Ms. Oliver learned about the opportunity through her school’s college career center.

Ms. Oliver, who speaks Japanese and French, wants to go into international business, so she values this internship as her first step toward business and marketing.

“I feel really grateful that I’m getting to see marketing examples and templates,” she said. “I plan on taking these things back to school my senior year, and exercising and building bonds throughout my life.”

Like Ms. Oliver, Ben Broughton, a senior at Hillcrest High School, has spent his internship working with files. He worked in the Admissions Department at William P. Clements Jr. University Hospital, where he had the job of updating and organizing computer files to formulate a table of contents for training materials. In addition, Mr. Broughton was granted access to EPIC, a software program that is used to register and keep track of UT Southwestern patients.

“On a typical day I do everything from filling in demographics to retrieving consents and escorting patients,” he said. “Since being granted EPIC access, I have quickly learned many of the functions necessary to register and admit patients.”

Mr. Broughton plans to pursue chemical engineering, but in the meantime he is extremely proud of what he did during his time at UT Southwestern.

“This internship has shown me the rigors and attendance demands of an organized institution of employment, as well as how to interact with patients who face a variety of challenges,” he said.

Charlotte Williams, Manager of Community Recruitment Initiatives in the Office of Human Resources, has been proud to watch students in the program successfully complete their internships with an appreciation for working in a professional environment.

“This experience has been rewarding, and is validated by how the students have demonstrated their character, conduct, and conversation,” she said.

Ms. Williams, whose goal each year is to put the interns in the best possible position for post-college careers, said the program will grow at UT Southwestern by educating the community about the importance of exposing Dallas high school students to workplace opportunities.

“We need to continue to recruit the most talented interns, utilize their technical expertise, and continue to support them in their efforts to gain full-time employment,” she said.

Mayor’s Intern Fellows

2015 participants, their schools, and the UT Southwestern offices, departments, and programs are:

Marck Acevedo, Skyline HS – Department of Radiology; Anaka Adams, Townview School for the Talented and Gifted – Office of the Dean, UT Southwestern Medical School; Jasmine Avila, Maceo Smith New Tech HS – Sponsored Programs Administration; Ben Broughton, Hillcrest HS – Clements University Hospital, Admitting; Jaslynn Brown, Garza Early College HS – Human Resources, Records; Yadira Chavez, Townview School of Health Professions – Telecommunications, IR; Giovanni Cervantes, Sunset HS – Zale Lipshy University Hospital, Nutrition Services.

Taylor Combs, Hampton Preparatory – Research Administration; Garyetta Cooks, Skyline HS – Sponsored Programs Administration; Lizet Cuadros, Kimball HS – Clements University Hospital, Nutrition Services; Bryant Diaz, Obama Male Leadership Academy – Clements University Hospital, Nutrition Services; Juana Laura Dominguez, Skyline HS – Research Administration; Gisselt Estrada, Seagoville HS – Office of the Dean, UT Southwestern Medical School.

Christopher Flores, Garza Early College HS – Information Resources; Leslye Flores, Spruce HS – Human Resources, Employee Relations; Leticia Hernandez, Kimball HS – Department of Psychiatry; Devodrick Johnson, Harmony Science Academy – Department of Immunology; Regina Juarez, Maceo Smith New Tech HS – Zale Lipshy University Hospital, Nutrition Services; Phuc Luong, Maceo Smith New Tech HS – Sponsored Programs Administration; Yuliana Mariano, Seagoville HS – Office of Compliance.

James Mohtares, W. Wilson HS – Office of Accounting; Eric Moreno, Harmony Science Academy – Office of Diversity and Inclusion & Equal Opportunity; Kadrian Oliver, W. Wilson HS – Office of Communications, Marketing, and Public Affairs; Taylon Owens, Obama Male Leadership Academy – Transplant Services; Mackenzie Palmer, Carter HS – Sponsored Programs Administration; Nithin Panchakarla, Townview School for the Talented and Gifted – Ambulatory Imaging Support; Maria Parra, Dallas Can Academy Charter-Oak Cliff – Department of Internal Medicine.

Noe Perales, B.T. Washington HS – Department of Psychiatry; Michael Prince, Gilliam Collegiate Academy – Radiology/Oncology; Anika Reddy, Townview School for the Talented and Gifted – Human Resources, Recruitment; Roberto Rivas, Townview Science and Engineering – Environmental Services; Ulysses Rodriguez, North Dallas HS – Office of Development; Diana Sanluiseno, Uplift Peak Preparatory – Office of the Dean – UT Southwestern Medical School; Berenice Vasquez, Maceo Smith New Tech HS – Office of Communications, Marketing, and Public Affairs; Rubi Vielma, Spruce HS – Human Resources, Benefits.