Lang Youth Medical Program ISABELLE ELTON • Program Manager • ise9007@nyp.org MARA MINGUEZ, MD • Medical Director • mm2060@cumc.columbia.edu Mission and Goals
The Lang Youth Medical Program (Lang Youth) is a six-year health science enrichment and medical pipeline program for underserved youth who represent the diversity of the Washington Heights and Inwood (WHI) communities. Lang Youth’s mission is to inspire and motivate middle school and high school students to achieve their college and career aspirations through hands-on learning and mentorship at a world-class academic medical center. Lang Scholars meet on Saturdays during the academic year and summers during July for six years from seventh through 12th grades. Lang Youth fosters an environment for academic and personal success through: •H ealth career exploration. Hospital tours, career panels, clinical rotations, and summer internships. •H ealth science education. Handson curriculum interweaving human anatomy, physiology, pathology, public health, and personal wellness.
Number of People Reached
230 N umber of students and their families Lang Youth has served over the past 15 years. 130 Students who have graduated from Lang Youth, graduated from high school, and matriculated into a four-year college/university since 2009. 85 Number of students currently enrolled in Lang Youth Key Accomplishments
Lang Youth aims to increase high school and college graduation rates, with the goal of improving health outcomes in the future. The program also helps to reduce the deficit of minority healthcare workers in the United States. • Lang Youth inducted 15 new Lang Scholars to the program, representing 11 of our partner middle schools in WHI. • The Program held its 12th annual graduation ceremony, and because
of COVID, it was the hospital’s first live virtual event. We celebrated 13 graduates. This cohort of Lang Scholars had an 86 percent retention rate over six years, and all are attending fouryear universities—including Boston University, Syracuse University, SUNY Binghamton, CUNY Hunter College, Brandeis, NYU, Lehman, Buffalo State, Howard, and Columbia University. • NewYork-Presbyterian welcomed its fifth Lang alumna as a full-time employee of the Hospital: Annabell Marcelino (Lang Class of 2013), who serves as Program Coordinator for the Uptown Hub. • For the first time, Lang Youth offered three summer internship placements to alumni. Sites included the Ambulatory Care Network Child Advocacy Center, Morgan Stanley Children Hospital’s Child Life Department, and Milstein Hospital’s operating rooms. • Recently, Lang Youth launched its first online new scholar application. It hopes to increase outreach to eligible sixth-grade students attending public/ charter middle schools in WHI.
•M entorship. Guidance from graduate students, medical trainees, and healthcare professionals from various Hospital departments. •C ollege support. College campus tours, SAT preparation, college application assistance, and academic and career development for Lang Youth alumni.
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