The Medical Career Collaborative (MC²) program propels high school students toward careers in healthcare through hands-on experiences and professional development opportunities. MC2 focuses on recruiting students from groups that are under-represented in the healthcare workforce. MC² is a two-year program for high school juniors and seniors with programming activities taking place at Children’s Colorado and Denver Health.
Current high school sophomores are invited to apply. If accepted, they will begin participation at the start of their junior year.
MC² requires a commitment from selected students for both years (junior and senior year). Based on this timeline, the MC² selection committee will only accept applications from students who are currently in their sophomore year.
The MC² program prioritizes applicants from the following Denver Metro districts: Denver, Aurora, Adams, Jefferson, Douglas, Mapleton, Sheridan, Englewood, Westminster and Cherry Creek. The program places great emphasis on including students of all backgrounds, socioeconomic groups and geographic regions. MC² aims to create a diverse group of students from the Denver Metro region in an effort to build a workforce that better represents the communities served in healthcare.
Through the following activities, students get a jump start on their future:
Field trips: MC2 students attend monthly field trips to gain exposure to healthcare.
Internships: MC2 students are eligible for paid internships at Children’s Colorado or Denver Health. Once assigned to a hospital, students will be slated into an internship session in the fall, spring or summer. Fall and spring sessions are 12 weeks long with students working roughly 10 hours a week, while the summer session is six weeks with students working 30 hours a week. During their internship, MC2 students are placed in one department at their designated hospital where they work (and learn) alongside hospital team members.
Service learning/volunteering: MC2 students engage in service-learning opportunities designed to give back to the local community.
Personal and professional development opportunities: Participating students engage in seminars, workshops and trainings designed to build students’ personal and professional competencies.
Post-secondary coaching: MC2 seniors receive post-secondary coaching around their educational and career goals, college applications, scholarship applications, gathering letters of recommendation and writing essays.
MC2 alumni: MC2 alumni remain connected to the MC2 network and are eligible to participate in ongoing programs connected to career goals.
