On her first day on the job at The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore City Community College freshman Kenara Ford says she was nervous but excited. Ford is one of the 200 Baltimore City teenagers and young adults participating in the Johns Hopkins Summer Jobs Program. The program is celebrating its 30th anniversary.

“My supervisor, Melody, was incredibly welcoming,” says Ford. “I got to see the pathology lab and learn how things are processed. It isn’t something you get to see every day. The lab was mind-blowing!”

According to Spencer Carroll, youth program manager for the Johns Hopkins Health System Learning and Development Department Office of Workforce Development, the program matches interns, ages 15 to 21, with supervisors from across Johns Hopkins Health System and The Johns Hopkins University in various roles, both medical and nonmedical. Most of the interns are Baltimore City residents, and the program aligns with the Baltimore City Mayor’s initiative to employ young people during the summer. The internships are paid and last seven weeks. During the summer, in addition to working with their supervisors, interns have the opportunity to attend professional development sessions to gain essential career skills such as resume writing, interviewing and networking.

“We are thrilled to celebrate the remarkable 30th anniversary of the Johns Hopkins Summer Jobs Program,” says Inez Stewart, senior vice president and chief human resources officer of Johns Hopkins Medicine and one of the executive sponsors of the program. “Sponsored jointly by the Johns Hopkins Health System and The Johns Hopkins University, the program goals have remained the same: to expose youth to health care careers by offering paid summer jobs, to create a nurturing environment for interns to cultivate professional and community leadership abilities, and to help interns acquire job skills and hands-on experience to enhance their pursuit of health care careers.”

The program was started at The Johns Hopkins Hospital, focusing on Baltimore City students. The internships spanned the breadth of health care, with varied jobs ranging from nutrition to nursing to research. Over the years, it grew to include Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, Sibley Memorial Hospital, Johns Hopkins Howard County Medical Center, Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital and Suburban Hospital.

“One of the program’s goals is to provide training and resources to interns so they’re ready for the next step in their career development,” says Carroll. “Sometimes this is their first job, and sometimes their first professional job. These internships are opportunities for access. They are working in settings that encourage them to build relationships and create a network of support.”

Intern supervisor Melody Rorabeck is the Pathology Core Lab education coordinator. She is working with Ford to help her navigate work expectations. The Pathology Core Lab processes the majority of blood tests at the hospital. They receive about 7,000 specimens a day.

“The laboratories require a lot of real human effort to ensure the results are accurate and on time,” Rorabeck says. “We train the interns to help sort, distribute and track the samples in the computer system.”

Rorabeck says the internships are great opportunities to provide exposure to a variety of health care jobs.

“We provide a safe and nurturing space for interns,” Rorabeck says. “We hope to give them a positive experience and help them learn what is going on behind the scenes. We put them in a space where they can be team players and observe other people’s teamwork. Everyone has a special role, and efficiency is key.”

For Ford, the experience was so positive that she returned for a second year. She now hopes to go to medical school and become an anesthesiologist.

“Interning has been one of the best decisions I’ve ever made,” says Ford. “It’s opened so many doors and taught me so many things. I’ve discovered more about myself and the way I think of my future.”

Intern Amari’e Monroe is a senior at Western High School. She has participated in the program for three years in different roles. This year, she is also interning in the pathology department.

“The Summer Jobs Program is a great opportunity for teens to make money and network with different people,” Monroe says. “I’ve learned that hospitals are more than just doctors. It’s a big place, and there are so many people doing different things. Even the people who work in the cafeteria are an important part of the system.”

Monroe says she has met many people, and was surprised to learn there were so many different types of nurses.

“They are not just in the emergency room,” Monroe says. “They are doing procedures all over the hospital.”

Now, Monroe hopes to become a nurse practitioner.

“This experience has made me more confident in myself,” Monroe says. “There is nothing wrong with having my future planned and being successful. I now know what I want to do and how I want to do it.”

For more information about the Johns Hopkins Summer Jobs Program, visit hopkinsmedicine.org/human-resources/learning-development/youth/summer-jobs.