When Gia Magana-Garcia first considered joining Carver’s high school paid internship program at Norwalk Hospital, she was unsure about stepping outside her comfort zone. Encouraged by her mentor, Carver’s Future Readiness Coordinator, Rayshonda Mitchell, Gia embraced the opportunity and discovered a new passion for healthcare. In her own words, Gia shares how this experience not only introduced her to exciting career possibilities but also gave her the confidence to pursue her goals and dream big.
Today, Gia is a University of South Florida – Tampa student studying to be a Physician Assistant. Here is Gia’s inspiring account of her Carver internship journey.
By Gia Magana-Garcia
I want to start by saying that Carver was one of the first programs that helped me explore outside my comfort zone. I’m the type of person who typically likes to keep things the same. Same people, same schedule, same environment.
When my friend, Mary Lupinacci, a student in the Carver program the previous year, told me about her experiences in the hospital internship and with Mrs. Rayshonda Mitchell, I was a little hesitant about pursuing it. I knew it would be an excellent opportunity to gain knowledge on possible future careers, but it would mean surrounding myself with different people and activities.
I met with Mrs. Mitchell to better understand the internship; she heavily influenced me. Mrs. Mitchell was a person I felt comfortable with right off the bat, and she spoke to me as if I was a grown adult who could make the right decisions. She made me feel comfortable enough to pursue this new experience.
It’s a little difficult to remember everything we did in the hospital internship, but some things stood out. One of them was our trip to the cardiology department. We were shown the different rooms where different tests occurred, such as stress and echo tests. The echo tech career was quite interesting, seeing how the heart moves and pumps on the echocardiogram and the process and education to become one.
Before going into the internship, I had no career in mind other than being a physician assistant. Still, after that day, I always kept being an echo technician in mind. Another experience was our CPR certification day. Learning the proper way to give CPR and getting certified was an experience I don’t regret, and it made me proud of my choice of doing the Carver hospital internship.
My primary mentor during this experience was Mrs. Mitchell. As I mentioned, she made me more comfortable and confident in my choices. She also helped me throughout my college decision journey. She gave me insight into how the college I chose should support me in my career, like picking a school that had internship locations available on and off campus. She also helped me determine what school I’d feel more comfortable in based on the type of community.
Those who are considering joining Carver or YDP should do so. Carver gives you many opportunities that can look good on a college resume and give you so much knowledge on how you want to pursue your future career and goals.
I was also so blessed to have gotten a scholarship from Carver to help with my college tuition.
Participating in the Carver program has inspired me to want to provide teenagers with more internship possibilities and maybe even work. At some point in my career, I want to create my practice and have a department dedicated to teaching young adults about healthcare careers and giving them patient technician training.
