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, Epic Charter Schools in Oklahoma, and local Oklahoma public schools. 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 sponsors for Indigenous HCC are Dr. Jonathan Baines, Medical Director Native American Pathway Programs; Member, Mayo Clinic Cancer Center; Department of Family Medicine, Mayo Clinic; and Dr. Kent Smith, Associate Dean and Professor of Anatomy and Cell Biology, OSU Center for Health Sciences.

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.

Above: Dr. Smith meets with an IHCC high school student participant, Jadon H., to discuss career paths and enjoy some anatomy. Dr. Smith is holding the skull of a Dire Wolf collected in Oklahoma in 1919 and Jadon is holding the skull of a short faced bear from the tar pits in LA.