Staff Report
More than 60 Albuquerque area high school students are getting a taste of the UNM Health Sciences Center job market through a partnership between the University and the city.
The Job Mentor Program is a project funded by the Albuquerque Business Education Compact and operated by the City of Albuquerque Job Training and Family Services Division. It is designed to offer assistance and encouragement to high school students to stay in school and graduate, said Rosemarie Sanchez, who coordinates the program for the City of Albuquerque.
"Many times kids just don't know what is out in the real world," Sanchez said in a UNM press release. "Often, if their parents didn't have the chance to explore careers or get additional training, then a student just doesn't know what is possible."
Sanchez said the program targets students who have been identified by school counselors as having academic potential but who are not well-connected with school and may be on the verge of dropping out.
"The entire idea of the program is to expand horizons," she said. "Kids start to see what is out there and to understand that there are resources available to them."
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University Hospital Nurse Kathy Lopez-Bushnell, who began helping high school students connect with nurses at the hospital when she heard of the city program, said she has been impressed by the students and their dedication to the program since its inception.
"Everyone wins," Lopez-Bushnell said in a UNM press release. "The students get a taste for the real world and we find that they are eager to be a real help in the clinic. They can really make a difference during the day."
She said the results of the Job Mentor Program can be dramatic, adding that she has seen students go from almost leaving high school to making the honor roll in college.
Lopez-Bushnell added that a tremendous amount goes on behind the scenes before teens ever show up in the workplace. Parents and students sign compacts to participate in the program's seminars and activities and to cooperate with Job Mentoring Program's staff and worksite mentors.
Sanchez said everything within the program's system is designed to ground students in the real job world. Not only do students have speakers and seminars designed to explore career possibilities and what will be expected of them within the work place, they are also expected to create their own "career portfolio" that includes a career plan, rÇsumÇ and job application forms for positions that interest them.
When students joins the Job Mentor Program, they must maintain good attendance in school and reach and maintain a C average or better to job shadow or receive a summer job, Sanchez added.
They also must develop and follow a study plan for their high school classes. On the job, students must acquire 90 hours of approved activity each semester.
Lopez-Bushnell noted that there are also rewards for the companies involved. They receive support from Albuquerque Public School teachers and counselors. UNM Hospitals organizers know that the Job Mentor Program students may one day become permanent employees - good news in a region in need of health care workers.
"I can't say enough good things about the program," Bushnell said. "We'd love to see it expand to other areas of campus. They are good kids, and they get so excited when they see the possibilities of the types of work they might do."
