Two young women with family ties to the Dominican Republic embody the Allentown School District’s work to create healthcare career opportunities for its students.
An Allen High School senior is headed to Howard University with the goal of becoming an emergency medicine physician, while a senior at the Bridgeview Academy of Health, Science, Innovation and Technology is working toward a career as an ultrasound technician.
Both students benefited from district programs that connect students with internships at the region’s extensive network of hospitals and other healthcare service providers. Here’s a look at where they are headed next.
Brianna Potter-Camarena, Allen High
Brianna Potter-Camarena is headed to Howard University, where she will enroll in the pre-med track and major in biology. She earned a scholarship that covers full tuition and half of room and board costs.
Howard’s on-campus hospital will offer volunteer opportunities, Potter-Camarena said.
Her medical experience already includes a six-month internship at the St. Luke’s University Health Network emergency room on 17th Street, two family medicine internships and additional volunteer work at Lehigh Valley Health Network, and pediatric speech and physical therapy experience at Good Shepherd Rehabilitation.
The emergency room doctors “work so fast,” Potter-Camarena said, explaining that the pace of the work and the chance to see how patients react when they realize she is there to help were two of the reasons she decided emergency medicine would be a career worth pursuing.
All the people she met during her internship, from doctors and nurses to patient care assistants and the registration staff, were inspiring mentors, Potter-Camarena said.
Brianna Potter-Camarena is the Allen High School student graduation speaker. Potter-Camarena is headed to Howard University, she wants to be an ER physician. Photo taken at Allen High School on Friday, May 8, 2026. (Monica Cabrera/The Morning Call)
Potter-Camarena currently works at Phoebe Ministries and will serve as a patient care assistant in emergency medicine this summer. That role includes assisting nurses and doctors and assessing vital signs when patients arrive in an ambulance.
She founded the Healthcare Careers Club at Allen with the goal of connecting students with local medical professionals and opening up community service opportunities.
As an ambassador for the Women in Pre-Med Connect 4 Girls organization, Potter-Camarena said part of the goal of founding that school club was to help connect Allen students to that national organization and others that support career development.
Potter-Camarena is also National Honor Society president, a member of the science and math national honor societies and a student representative who meets monthly with the district superintendent and school board directors.
AP Biology was her favorite class and provided a solid foundation for her college studies, Potter-Camarena said. The “dynamics of the study of life” and genetics were two intriguing topics, she added.
She raised funds for pediatric cancer through Canaries For Life, tutored middle schoolers and volunteered at local food banks.
Potter-Camarena is also heavily involved in her church community, where she participates in dance ministry through praise and worship dance.
Her “vision extends beyond the Lehigh Valley,” the Dieruff administration noted in an email, highlighting Potter-Camarena’s plans to return to her home country, the Dominican Republic, to “provide free, compassionate care to underserved communities.”
Potter-Camarena is following her family legacy locally as well, as her 24-year-old sister, Cheila Aybar, works at St. Luke’s as a patient care assistant in the medical surgery unit and is aiming to become a physician’s assistant.
Aisha Estevez Infante, Bridgeview Academy
Aisha Estevez Infante loves technology and enjoys supporting women who are growing their families. She learned through her LVHN internship that there’s a way to marry the two: become an ultrasound technician.
Estevez Infante got to shadow in the radiography department, learning how to use their equipment to generate medical imaging. While she liked working with emergency room patients and learning how X-ray machines work, she said she sees herself as being more at home in an OB-GYN setting.
After graduation, Estevez Infante will pursue an associate’s degree, with the goal of leveraging hospital resources to pay for further degree completion. She knows having a bachelor’s degree will help her move faster up the career ladder, but she also wants to minimize the cost of her studies.
Working with mothers and babies comes naturally to Estevez Infante; her count of siblings and cousins who are essentially siblings quickly reaches at least eight people.
Estevez Infante came to the United States from the Dominican Republic when she was 7 years old. She helped her other sister take care of their siblings, and a cousin who traveled frequently from the Dominican Republic to join the family in the United States.
Estevez Infante and her brother were both born prematurely, about seven months into her mother’s pregnancies. Her mother had a “hard birth” with Estevez Infante’s sister as well, she said.
The history of premature births and other pregnancy-related challenges in her family have left Estevez Infante invested in being someone who is able to support women through their pregnancies.
She attended medical appointments with a cousin, using the English language skills she learned in local schools to help translate. As part of her internship, she was also able to shadow medical translators to learn more about their role in healthcare.
Estevez Infante has also put her translation skills to work as a student poll worker, part of a Lehigh County program that puts high school and college-age students to work during elections.
Heidy Pagan, the manager of the Health Care Futures Program for LVHN, said Estevez Infante was a standout student during her six-week internship.
“Aisha was exposed to Radiology, Interpreter Services and a Medical-Surgical Unit,” Pagan said in an email. “Through these experiences, she built meaningful mentor relationships, expanded her professional network and gained greater clarity about her future in healthcare. Her enthusiasm, curiosity and strong work ethic made her a standout participant throughout the program.”