It is now five years since the Aetna Foundation made a $2 million donation to support the Aetna Health Professions Partnership Initiative (HPPI) at the UConn Health Center, a program designed to encourage underrepresented students to pursue a career in health or science. Executives from the foundation recently visited the UConn Health Center to meet with some of the students whose lives have been transformed by the program and their faculty advisors.
“For nearly a decade, the Aetna Foundation has worked to eliminate the significant racial and ethnic disparities in health and health care that exist in America. Preparing young people from a wide variety of backgrounds to enter the health care field is an important step toward ensuring that high-quality health care is available to everyone,” says Dr. Anne Beal, president of the Aetna Foundation. “With 17 percent of its incoming medical students and 21 percent of its incoming dental students from underrepresented minorities, UConn has a stellar record in attracting a diverse student body to the world of medicine, health, and science.”
The HPPI is a comprehensive program designed to inform young students about careers in the health and sciences fields and support their academic development. The initiative, which is run by the Health Center’s Office of Health Careers Opportunity Programs, includes a number of enrichment programs for underrepresented and disadvantaged students in Hartford-area middle and high schools. Students, many of whom are the first in their families to go to college, who attend UConn are supported throughout their academic careers with continued programming and mentorship.
“We are tremendously grateful to the Aetna Foundation for its generosity and leadership in addressing disparities in education and health care,” says Dr. Marja Hurley, director of Health Careers Opportunity Programs and associate dean of the School of Medicine. “Through the foundation’s grant, we have been able to expand to offer more innovative programs and reach more students. The HPPI program has given incredible opportunities and made a difference in the lives of so many students.”
Since the program was launched in 1996, more than 1,000 participating students have entered careers in health care, and 96 percent of high school seniors enrolled in HPPI during the 2009-10 academic year are attending college this year.
Shanado Williams ’11, a senior and resident assistant in Storrs, is one of four UConn students who met with the Aetna Foundation executives to share his story. He spoke about his experience in the Health Professions Academics and Mini Medical School Seminar Series at Weaver High School in Hartford.
“That was my first introduction into the sciences,” Williams said. “Science was something completely unheard of where I’m from. I can say that the Mini Medical program was what got me to focus on what I’m doing now to become a doctor.”
As a student at UConn, he also has participated in the College Enrichment Program and Medical College Admission Test preparation program.
“I’m a testament to what these programs can do,” says Williams. “When you have people out there caring about you, behind you, it makes a difference. People are always telling us that we’re the future generation. Those are just words until you see that someone is making an investment in our future. The faculty in these programs are invested in my future.”
Williams was joined by students now enrolled in UConn’s School of Medicine, School of Dental Medicine, and Graduate School.
“The Aetna HPPI program has an enormous impact on Connecticut students,” says Granville Wrensford, assistant dean and associate director of Health Careers Opportunity Programs, “and has contributed significantly to the diversity of the students enrolled in the graduate and professional programs at the Health Center.”
For more information about supporting the UConn Health Center, please contact the UConn Foundation’s development department.
