WesternU students find community and connection through MIKE program mentorship

For students at Western University of Health Sciences in Oregon, the start of the academic school year brings new opportunities to get involved in the community. Each year, a group of students from the Heatherington College of Osteopathic Medicine (WesternU HCOM) and the College of Health Sciences-Northwest (CHS-Northwest) choose to volunteer as mentors in the MIKE Program.

The program's work is supported by teachers at participating schools who work alongside MIKE mentors to help connect the lessons to their students' needs and interests (Photo courtesy of the MIKE Program).

MIKE is a non-profit organization that educates and mentors youth to lead healthy lives and build healthy communities. By connecting mentor volunteers and partner organizations like WesternU with local middle and high schools, MIKE teaches healthy behaviors, increases basic health knowledge and health literacy, and provides exposure to health care career pathways. Originating in the Portland area, the program now serves urban and rural communities throughout Oregon and Southwest Washington. In 2018, the Sweet Home community requested a peer-to-peer mentoring program connecting its high school and the medical school. The partnership with MIKE launched in Sweet Home in 2020, as a pilot program for rural communities. Today, the program continues to serve as a launchpad for innovation and best practices in workforce pipeline development.

"When we launched this project in 2020, one of our key innovations was having medical students work directly with the MIKE team and the high school to develop leadership skills in community health and youth mentoring. Since then, we've welcomed physical therapy students, and I'm proud that we continue to stay true to our original vision," said WesternU Senior Executive of Strategy, Growth, and Transformation Di Lacey, DHSc, who was instrumental in bringing the MIKE Program to WesternU. "These health professions students are future civic leaders, public health educators, and healthcare advocates. We designed this program to give them the hands-on learning and real-time feedback that will prepare them to succeed in any community where they choose to practice."

The MIKE program curriculum aligns with the Oregon Department of Education Health Standards but allows for flexibility based on the needs of the communities they serve and the specializations of their mentor volunteers. Classes include a focus on nutrition and exercise, mental health, and other social determinants of health. Through partnerships with early health care professionals, MIKE introduces students to a wide range of career opportunities and provides personalized guidance as they prepare to take the next steps in their professional journeys.

The program's work is supported by teachers at participating schools who work alongside MIKE mentors to help connect the lessons to their students' needs and interests. Their partnership gives mentors insight into the school and community while helping teachers incorporate additional health education and career exploration into their students' classroom experience.

As program lead, second-year physical therapy student Haven Wagner organizes mentor visits to Sweet Home High School, facilitates tours of the CHS-Northwest campus building, and develops hands-on interactive lesson plans for the mentees (Photo courtesy of the MIKE Program).

"I've found a favorite activity that the classes have enjoyed so far. It is an 'impairment creating' activity. We purposefully make it so they have a physical impairment, such as not being able to bend their elbow when throwing or putting popsicle sticks on their fingers so they can't bend or grip anything," said second-year physical therapy student Haven Wagner. Other times we'll talk about why we got into physical therapy, what physical therapy is, confirming that, yes, we work with injuries, but we also do so much more than just treat injuries."

Wagner became involved in the MIKE program when the third-year cohort presented on the program and encouraged other students to sign up. As a program lead, she helps organize mentor visits to Sweet Home High School, facilitates tours of the CHS-Northwest campus building, and develops hands-on interactive lesson plans for the mentees.

"The community does so much for us and it's so much more beneficial when we can give back to the community as well. We get to see the reactions and the thankfulness from them. We don't do it just to get something back, but it's like a constant giving circle. You're giving and they're giving, and it creates a mutually beneficial environment," said Wagner.

The relationships MIKE volunteers build with students are at the heart of the program, and those connections begin with mentors being willing to show up as themselves. While mentors bring their education and experiences into the classroom, MIKE Executive Director Justin Zellinger said the most effective volunteers are those who are willing to share the less-than-perfect parts of their own journeys, too.

"We ask our mentors to kind of bring their whole self into the program. The students sometimes think, 'oh, wow, they're a med student, they must have it all figured out. They knew they wanted to be a doctor. It was easy for them.' Often, that's not the case. They've had this curved path to get there. They have their own struggles. Maybe they're having an off day, but they still show up anyway. Sharing those struggles, the ups and downs and, again, bringing their whole self is what we encourage," said Zellinger. "It's nice for them to just come and be genuine. It forms connections."

WesternU HCOM second-year student Erin Foley has been involved in MIKE both as a mentor and now as a program director. Foley was interested in volunteering with the MIKE program because she appreciated the longevity of the role and the opportunity to build personal relationships with the mentees.

WesternU HCOM second-year student Erin Foley leads a discussion with Sweet Home High School students and fellow WesternU HCOM volunteers (Photo courtesy of the MIKE Program).

"Throughout my life, I have always really gravitated towards teaching positions. I like sharing knowledge that I've worked hard to gain, and I just think there's so many barriers to information medicine in general. That's been really rewarding, that I can go into Sweet Home and bring all these really amazing things that we're learning to a group of students that are equally interested but may not have had those resources without this program," said Foley. "Having that ability to be a mentor in medical school has been really important for me because it connects me to my community. It affords me the opportunity to share knowledge and inspire. You don't know what position a student is coming from or if they have role models in their life that they look up to, but you can be that role model for them in a capacity I wouldn't have even imagined possible. We come into that program twice a month and we live such busy lives. It sometimes seems small, but the impact is felt so deeply."

After moving from Portland to Lebanon for school, Foley was eager to find ways to connect with her new community. Volunteering provided the perfect opportunity to build meaningful relationships during everyday stresses of medical school.

Second-year WesternU HCOM student Erin Foley (Photo courtesy of the MIKE Program).

"Being able to participate in a mentorship program like MIKE has really instilled that sense of community within me and within a lot of students that participate as mentors. We're so well connected now with social media and being able to call anyone, but there's something that MIKE offers that satisfies that drive for relationship and human connection that is not as present in the high-speed environment of medical school. We're always working and we're always studying, and so the fact that we can really spend time with these students and with one another, I think it's been very impactful," said Foley. "It also just brings you down to earth and reminds you why you decided to go to medicine in the first place. It's those interactions that make medicine so wonderful. You are in partnership with your patients and you're in partnership with your community."

Those interested in supporting the MIKE program or learning more about how to get involved can visit www.mikeprogram.org.