Karla knelt in front of a large spongy orange ball and intently pushed down to the beat of her favorite song. This was part of Simon’s Heart, a participating non-profit, which provides life-saving curriculum and creative CPR instruction. Karla, a student at Washington High School, said she had never done CPR before and that she might one day help someone in an emergency if she practiced.

Karla was one of more than 350 high school students and about 30 college students to fill the halls of Esperanza College of Eastern University on Friday, Oct. 23, for the college’s 10th annual Minorities in Health Sciences Symposium. Located at 4261 N. 5th St in Philadelphia, the college sets aside a day to open its doors to students looking to enter careers in the health field, research and public health. The symposium ran from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Teachers accompanied students from Esperanza Academy, Esperanza Cyber Charter School, and 15 other schools throughout the School District of Philadelphia, among others.

The day opened with speakers and panel discussions. Keynote speaker Dr. Jorge Aguilar, Director of Sports Psychiatry at Montefiore Einstein, told students his own road to medicine was anything but straight: “My journey in education was messy and sometimes I thought I would quit, but I am here to let the students know that they can accomplish their dreams”.

Born in Costa Rica, Dr. Aguilar immigrated to the Bronx with his family as a child. He explained that the area was violent and the public schools there did not give him the tools he needed to pursue his dream of becoming a doctor. Despite this, he flourished in high school through an at-risk youth program. After high school, he enrolled in Swarthmore, where he found that he still needed more support and study tools. He persevered, taking extra courses, doing research, and writing additional pieces to boost his GPA, and entered medical school. Today, he has surpassed his goals: As a double-board-certified psychiatrist, Dr. Aguilar advises Major League Baseball and Major League Soccer on mental health and mental performance.

Panelists from the healthcare field spoke about mentorship, cultural competence, and career exploration. Students also had time to meet educators, practitioners, and one another. By the final hours, the campus became a working laboratory. Lines of teenagers wove through the corridors

between workshops, their voices bouncing off the walls. Current Esperanza College students, Jahriel Garcia and Brianny Torres, served as ambassadors and helped the guest students navigate the classrooms. «I wanted to serve as an ambassador to help students get around the school for the Symposium,» said Brianny, as Jahriel watched. In other rooms, students applied splints, extracted DNA, tried dental laboratory techniques, practiced on virtual patient simulators and a virtual dissection table, and watched 3D printers build objects layer by thin layer.

The Symposium aims to increase the number of health professionals from North Philadelphia and communities historically underrepresented in the field. Its lead sponsors are the Health Promotion Council, an affiliate of the Public Health Management Corporation (PHMC), and Cities for Better Health.

“What began in 2017 as a modest idea to launch our new Health Sciences major by bringing local high school students together with diverse healthcare professionals has grown into a transformative tradition,” said Dr. Nilsa Graciani, Dean of Esperanza College.

For a decade, the symposium has served as a bridge between the classroom and the clinic for young people who may not yet picture themselves in a white coat.

“Student success drives everything we do at Esperanza College,” Dr. Graciani said. “For me, the true measure of success for this symposium is seeing participants explore new ideas, step outside their comfort zones to ask questions, and build meaningful connections with healthcare professionals. It’s seeing what is possible for them.