The Texas Children’s Summer Junior Program once again presented a prime opportunity for Houston teens to learn about the health care industry at the biggest children’s hospital in the country. The Volunteer Services department hosts the program designed to provide high school students (ages 15-17) with an opportunity to volunteer at various campuses.
As early as 1955, Junior Volunteers at the Medical Center have supported patients, families and staff through a variety of volunteer assignments and interactive engagements. The tradition continued this year as over 300 prospects submitted applications for the Medical Center, which resulted in 43 summer juniors accepted into the six-week session. These students represented 25 schools across the Greater Houston area and proved to be a very impressive group that left a lasting impact. West Campus also welcomed 19 junior volunteers representing 12 schools and The Woodlands had 12 juniors from nine schools.
“It’s amazing to see the continued interest in this program, not only from the students but also from our team members who want to help them learn,” said Aileen Rago, assistant director of Patient & Family Services. “We received overwhelming positive feedback again from this year’s participants. They made long-lasting connections with mentors and learned across many disciplines in the hospital. We want to thank everyone involved in the program for taking their valuable time to teach these students.”
Texas Children’s team members worked in two, three-hour shifts Monday-Thursday with the students. Some of the most popular placements across campuses were the playroom, fun cart, crafts in the lobby, slant room, MWT PACU, Supply Chain, snow cone cart, outpatient playrooms and Guest Services. There were also Lunch and Learns with guest speakers from Social Work, OT/PT, Patient Experience and a second year Baylor College of Medicine Student who was a summer junior himself years ago.
Summer Juniors at the Medical Center served a remarkable 5,168 hours this summer. Those in The Woodlands served 1,596 hours and West Campus Juniors completed 2,566 hours.
If you are interested in sharing your career journey with our teens next summer, please email us at volunteerservices@texaschildrens.org.
