Ecosystem for Health Career Exploration

Indigenous HCC (IHCC) is a partnership program between high schools serving Indigenous youth and the Indigenous healthcare professional community.  Indigenous medical students and other allied health professional students will serve as mentors to share their stories and support high school students to learn about relevant health topics and consider health careers. Indigenous healthcare professionals will meet with high school students to share their career paths and stories.

Indigenous HCC was initiated in 2024 as a partnership between  the Indigenous HCC leadership team and Epic Charter Schools in Oklahoma. Epic Charter Schools serves thousands of Native American high school students from 38 tribes in Oklahoma. Indigenous HCC is also supported by the the leadership of the Association of American Indian Physicians and the Association of Native American Medical Students.

The faculty sponsor for Indigenous HCC is Dr. Jonathan Baines, Medical Director Native American Pathway Programs; Member, Mayo Clinic Cancer Center; Department of Family Medicine, Mayo Clinic.

The Indigenous HCC founding leadership team also includes IHCC Program Director Nick Campbell; IHCC National Medical Student Mentorship Directors Chris Lopez, Kelly Tellez, and Madison Palmer; and IHCC Program Coordinator, Divya Thomas.