SACRAMENTO, Calif. —
Students at Valley High School in south Sacramento received a memorable surprise this weekend as award-winning actor and director Edward James Olmos helped recognize teens preparing for careers in health care.
The students are part of Valley High School’s Health TECH Academy, where they train as community health workers while still in high school.
Many of the students speak multiple languages and spend weekends serving at community health events, where they provide blood pressure checks, share information about healthy eating, and help connect families with resources.
Olmos arrived at Valley High School in style, escorted by members of the Sacramento Lowrider Commission. He traveled to Sacramento after leaving a movie production in Africa to attend the Sacramento Latino Book & Family Festival and take part in a special scrub and certificate ceremony honoring the students.
Teacher Rodney Black, who leads the Health TECH program, said it offers students a unique opportunity to gain real-world experience.
“This is the first high school-based community health worker training program in the United States, and this is probably the only student-run health center in the United States,” Black said. “We provide medical reimbursable services to community members.”
Students gave Olmos a tour of their health center and even checked his blood pressure.
Black also named Olmos an honorary doctor and presented him with his own medical coat with his name embroidered.
The celebration included the grand opening and ribbon-cutting for the student-run clinic, now known as the Dr. Arturo Garzon Community Health Center.
The clinic honors Arturo Garzon, a former Valley High School student who went on to become a doctor and made a lasting impact on the program and community before his death two years ago.
Black said the students’ ability to connect with the people they serve is one of the program’s greatest strengths.
During one community event held at a local medical school, Black said residents often chose to seek help from Valley High students instead of medical students.
“I think because our students look more like the community they serve, and they look a lot more approachable,” Black said.
Olmos, who has spent decades supporting education and programs aimed at helping young people succeed, said he was impressed by the level of training Valley High students receive.
“They spend hundreds of hours preparing,” Olmos said. “By the time they’re good enough to go into becoming medical doctors, all kinds of medical practices they can all get into. And this is in high school. So, this is probably one of the finest structures I’ve ever seen in high schools today.”
Students earning their black scrubs and community health worker certificates said the recognition gave them even more motivation to pursue careers helping others.
“I like my work because I like helping people,” student Elsi Ramirez said. “I like building trust with them.”
For the students, the ceremony marked much more than earning a certificate. It represented another step toward careers in medicine and toward serving the same communities where they grew up.
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