Bakersfield College is receiving a $100,000 grant from Bank of America to expand a program aimed at helping students prepare for careers in health care.
Courtesy: Bank of America
The funding, awarded through Bank of America’s Neighborhood Builders program, will support the college’s Aspiring Medical Professionals program over the next two years.
College leaders say the money will be used to expand paid internships and other hands-on learning opportunities, while also helping students with costs tied to their training, including scrubs, equipment and transportation.
“This program at Bakersfield College has been in place for a few years, and thanks to Bank of America’s $100,000 investment will be able to grow,” said Cheryl Scott, executive director of the Bakersfield College Foundation. “The program will be able to impact more students. We’ll be able to give students paid opportunities for internships that will line them up for medical school and future medical career opportunities.”
Courtesy: Bank of America
Scott said some of the experience students need before moving on to medical school or other health care careers can be unpaid, creating an added challenge for students who are also balancing school and work.
“But a lot of times those opportunities are unpaid,” Scott said. “As great as they are, it does put a student in a bind where they’re devoting time to working with no income and also going to school.”
More than 400 students have already gone through the Aspiring Medical Professionals program, according to Bakersfield College.
The program is also part of a larger effort to prepare local students for health care careers and encourage them to return to Kern County after completing additional education and training.
Karen Zuber, president of Bank of America Bakersfield, said the program includes a “return to Kern” component designed around that goal.
“So they’ll be leaving Bakersfield, going to get educated, and then coming back with a commitment for return to Kern,” Zuber said.
Courtesy: Bank of America
Scott said investing in students who already have ties to Kern County could help strengthen the local health care workforce in the years ahead.
“We talk a lot about growing our own talent in Kern County,” Scott said. “Even if they go away to medical school, there’s a higher likelihood that they’re going to come back and serve their home community.”