Union High School Hosts 'Black Men In White Coats' Summit

Union High School hosted a Black Men in White Coats Summit on Tuesday.

Students met with doctors from OSU Medical Center to learn about the medical field. The room was full of students with big dreams. 

“I really like pediatric just because I’ve been able to shadow pediatricians and like been exposed to that but I think when I get into my clinical rotations and get experience in different fields I get to explore other options as well," said Khushi Parekh.

Parekh is a Union senior and hopes Tuesday's event is the first step in making the dreams a reality for her classmates. She's one of the students who organized the summit, an event specifically targeting minorities. 

"But what has been awesome to be able to see is having conversations with kids about what we do for a living and being able to offer that these are skills and I’m actively looking for colleagues," said Dr. Christopher McNeil.

McNeil hopes Tuesday's summit will also help with recruiting in the future. 

“Kids can’t be what they can’t see. If they can see me and I can be actively in front of them there are ways we can talk about medicine as we talk about the stem," said Dr. McNeil.

For some students, putting on a white coat at the summit could be a look into their future. “Putting on a white coat symbolizes the journey of getting there in the medical field and so for all of the younger kids to be able to put one on and see that they can do the same thing that many of the other adults in this room are doing as well it’s an amazing thing," said Meghana Venkatesha. 

Tuesday was the first year of the summit. McNeil said they are hoping to make it an annual event and have more students from across the state join.