The Rawls Scholars Medicine Initiative is helping Indianapolis high school students discover a healthcare career. 

The initiative is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, and Kim Curry, the Associate Vice President of Specialty Clinics at Eskenazi Health, says the program is leading many students toward a career in medicine. 

The program is a partnership between Eskenazi Health and the Center for Leadership Development. It offers local high school students an up-close look at healthcare careers like nursing, physical therapy, and more. 

Each year, the six-week course hosts fifty students from area high schools. The students are required to pass a 13-week course from the Center for Leadership Development before being accepted into the Rawls Scholars Medicine Initiative.     

Kim Curry says she hopes to see more minority students in the area who complete the course stay in Central Indiana to pursue their careers and impact their communities. She says when students get the chance to see medical professionals who look like them, it creates a stronger connection to that career path.