On Wednesday, August 7, this year’s student-participants in Medical Mentoring of the Fox Valley gathered for their graduation ceremony at Appleton North High School. Representing 15 area high schools, the graduates completed their job-shadowing requirements with local medical providers over the summer.
Founded in 2006, the program pairs high school juniors with medical mentors in a wide variety of specialties, and the experiences provide students with an invaluable, up-close glimpse of medical careers and opportunities. Program co-directors Katie Olp and Tammy Oppermann hosted the event for the Class of 2019, who first gathered at the Orthopedic & Sports Institute (OSI) in May for an introduction to the program and its founder, OSI’s Dr. David Eggert.
At the kickoff meetings, Eggert told students to embrace and enjoy the opportunities offered by the program, which have the potential solidify career aspirations.
“You’ll get a feeling for the paths that really resonate with you,” said Eggert, “and perhaps discover a number of avenues that you may not even have known existed.”
This year’s graduation ceremony included an impromptu visit from a former Medical Mentoring student, Appleton’s Neel Kapoor, who graduated from Appleton West in 2012 and UW-Madison in 2015. A fourth year med student at Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Kapoor is pursuing a residency in anesthesiology.
Neel Kapoor called Medical Mentoring “one of the most amazing, eye-opening experiences in my then 16 years of life.”
Kapoor’s address to the graduates provided compelling insights from someone whose medical dreams are becoming a reality, and was also a testimony to the program’s success and reach. When Kapoor was in the program, far fewer students, high schools, and facilities were involved.
“It is really amazing to see how much the Medical Mentoring program has grown and the influence it has had,” said Kapoor.
The following dedicated and generous providers mentored the Class of 2019:
- Advanced Physical Therapy & Sports Medicine
- Ascension Pediatrics
- Applecreek Orthodontics
- Ear, Nose & Throat Surgical Associates
- Fox River Periodontics
- Fox Valley Anicmal Referral Center
- Great Lakes Orthotics
- Hand to Shoulder Center of Wisconsin
- Kaukauna Clinic
- Mosaic Family Health
- MotionWorks Physical Therapy
- Neuroscience Group
- Neurospine Center of Wisconsin
- Orthopedic Clinic of Appleton
- OSI Surgery Center
- OSI MRI
- Partnership Community Health Center
- Pinnacle Cataract & Laser Institute
- Primary Care Associates of Appleton
- Recovery Inn, Managed by Eduro Health
- Schubbe-Resch Chiropractic and Physical Therapy
- Sports Medicine Center
- St. Paul Elder Services
- ThedaCare Pediatrics
- ThedaCare Scholl of Radiologic Technology
- Valley Eye Associates
- Valley Orthopedic Clinic
For more information about Medical Mentoring of the Fox Valley, click here.