This spring, nineteen San Francisco high school students spent a day on Stanford campus exploring health and medicine careers through a new collaboration between Neighborhood X Labs (NXL), a mentorship and career-access program focused on expanding opportunities for students, and three Stanford Medicine teams.
The program, called White Coats & Clinical Codes, aims to close the access gap in healthcare, clinical research, data, and technology careers by exposing students in the San Francisco Unified School District to interdisciplinary careers that have been historically less accessible outside elite academic pathways. "Merit is access," said the program organizers, emphasizing the program's goal of building a stronger, more connected Bay Area.
Three Stanford Medicine teams worked together to make the visit possible: the Department of Medicine's Community Partnership Program, Culture and Community Building, and Health Equity Education groups coordinated and supported the visit and developed educational content on pathways to careers in medicine.
Visiting students met with admissions representatives before speed networking with current faculty, staff, and students. The field trip, and all of the day’s activities, were specifically designed to help participants envision themselves at Stanford as future students, researchers, clinicians, or faculty — expanding their vision and building confidence in fields that drive innovation and impact.
Starting with Students
The day began with an icebreaker. When asked to describe how they felt in one word, "excited" filled the room, while others offered “curious”, “optimistic”, “eager”, “energetic”, and “surreal.”
When asked which medical careers excited them most, visiting students named a wide range, from nursing and biomedical engineering to AI in healthcare, surgery, and lab research. Some answered honestly: "I don't know."
That expression of uncertainty was an ideal place to start. The day wasn't about having everything figured out, it was about “exploration,” a message Hannah Valantine, MD, Vice Chair of Stanford Department of Medicine’s Culture and Community, reinforced in her welcome remarks.
A Welcome Grounded in Listening
In Valantine's opening, she shared how her journey to Stanford wasn't linear. What she thought would be a two-year commitment stretched into forty-two years. But it wasn't her credentials that captivated students: it was the story she shared about listening.
Years into her career in cardiac surgery, a patient's question changed Valantine's approach to heart transplant care: "You gave me my heart, and now you take it out piece by piece, little by little." The patient was describing the invasive biopsies required after transplant to check for organ rejection.
That moment drove Valantine to research a less invasive alternative. Her work led to the development of a blood test that can detect heart rejection without repeated biopsies, representing a breakthrough that has improved the quality of life for transplant patients.
She closed her remarks with: "You are at the start of your careers. Tremendous opportunities lie ahead of you. Patients can help you along the way. Always ask the 'why' questions."
Admissions: No Formula, Just Openness
The admissions session, led by Monica Perkins, Associate Director of Admissions for Access and External Relations, and Fadie Arabo, a current undergraduate student from Stanford's admissions office, sparked one of the most animated discussions of the day. The room was a mix of freshmen just beginning to think about college and seniors already deep in the application process.
Questions came rapidly. Students wanted to know the exact combination of grades, activities, and achievements required for admission to Stanford.
One 11th grader asked: "As a student, what would you say is the most common trait among Stanford students?"
Fadie's answer was immediate: "Openness."
Not perfection. Not a specific GPA threshold. Not a checklist of activities. Openness.
Students learned that Stanford looks for intellectual curiosity and authentic voices. Application essays aren't tests to pass, but rather opportunities to showcase original ideas and genuine personality.
The session didn't give students a formula, because there isn't one. Instead, it gave them permission to be themselves, ask questions, and let curiosity lead.
Speed Networking: Careers in Conversation
In this next session, students rotated through five stations, spending 10-12 minutes with Stanford faculty, staff, and students who had all built careers at the intersection of medicine, research, and innovation. The instruction was simple: ask anything.
Clinical pediatrics nurse Ann Leung, BSN, RN, CPN, and community-engaged research manager Dongmei Tan, MPH, discussed their own experiences finding passion and embracing adaptability. Project manager Krishneel Sen, MHA, and Department of Medicine director of finance and administration Kerry Makielski explored career pivots and leadership. Primary care physician Jeremy Moon, MD, and HEA3RT assistant medicine director Timothy Tsai, DO, MMCi, tackled AI in healthcare. Medical student Teni Anbarchian spoke candidly about balancing school with personal life and adapting to unexpected challenges.
Common threads emerged, including adaptability, curiosity, and AI's expanding role in medicine. But students took away something more valuable than themes, and that was honest stories about non-linear paths, career pivots, and moments of doubt.
Colwyn Headley, PhD, distilled the session's spirit: "Ask questions, but see if you can answer them first. And if not, or if you're unsure of the answers, go ask someone in the profession."
The speakers' varied career journeys offered reassurance to students uncertain about their own paths: success doesn't require perfection—just curiosity, resilience, and a willingness to navigate uncertainty. One 11th grader reflected, "NXL has introduced me to new career pathways and opened my eyes to the fact that not everyone's paths are perfectly planned out.”
The success of the event would not have been possible without the generous support from DoM Associate Chair for Community Partnership Christine Santiago, MD, MPH; DoM Program Director, Alexandria Blacker, PhD, MPH; DoM Project Coordinator, Winnona Alba; DoM Vice Chair of Culture and Community Hannah Valantine; DoM Program Manager, Ravenn Gethers; and Senior Director of Health Equity Education, Judith Ned, EdD.
By creating space for curiosity and showing that it's okay not to have all the answers, this partnership is inspiring students to imagine themselves as future doctors, researchers, and nurses.
