Jenny Kim – photo taken in Royce Hall at UCLA by Jennifer Ren, another student at SHPEP.
By Lexi Chitwood
Jenny Kim, an Edgewood College junior, completed the six-week Summer Health Professions Education Program (SHPEP) at the University of California, Los Angeles.
SHPEP is a summer enrichment program that engages freshman and sophomore college students who are interested in health professions. The program focuses on giving opportunities to students who come from disadvantaged or underrepresented backgrounds.
Students received clinical exposure, seminars, financial literacy training, workshops, and more. Flights, housing, and all meals were provided, as well as a stipend.
SHPEP hosted students at 13 program sites this year, some being Columbia University, Rutgers University, and Howard University.
With around 1,000 applicants, Kim was one of 80 chosen for the program at UCLA. Kim knew the odds were against her. “I did not think I had a good chance at being accepted. I was actually very hesitant to apply,” she said. Encouragement from her brother helped her get the application process going. “My roommate helped edit my personal statement. I sent an email to one of my biology professors over the winter break for a recommendation letter and he gladly agreed to write one for me,” Kim said.
SHPEP helped narrow Kim’s career ambitions. “Through this program, I was able to get a clear grasp of what I want to do with my life,” she said.
Kim went into SHPEP thinking she wanted to be a dentist, but the experience gave her a new perspective on the socioeconomic aspects of healthcare. “It especially opened my eyes to the needs of others in the community and it has made me want to serve the underserved,” she said.
One of Kim’s favorite parts of the program was the personal connections she made with established health professionals from SHPEP and UCLA, as well as peers. “I’ve met so many amazing peers through this program and made friends that have similar goals and aspirations as me. I’ve gained a great support group through this experience,” Kim said.
Kim recommends the program to any aspiring healthcare professionals, “especially those interested in equity for all and students who are open to learning new things.”
She warns that “it does take some time to put the application together but it’s something that we will eventually all have to do when we go on to applying for professional schools.” Kim said the application process is a worthwhile learning process in and of itself.
“The main advice I would give to students who are applying is to be genuine when writing their personal statements, talking about their experiences and their aspirations,” Kim said. She pointed out that everyone’s experience with the program is different, and when reading about it online, students should take the information they find with a grain of salt. “There were a lot of posts that discouraged me about my chances of getting accepted, but I was able to get past those comments and still apply,” she said.
Kim will be holding an AIM (Achievement in Medicine) presentation on Friday, November 2nd at 12:00 p.m. (location TBD). She’ll be discussing the application process and the program in further detail.
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