Step-Up Omaha will return to UNMC for summer 2024

UNMC Step-Up Omaha interns from 2023, from left, Valerie Medrano-Najera, Niara Berry-Bowie, Curtis Somado, Justice Odia and Emanuel Paul

UNMC again will welcome participants from Step-Up Omaha, and departments on the Omaha campus can step forward if they have opportunities this summer for student interns.

Step-Up Omaha is a partnership involving the City of Omaha, the Empowerment Network and community donors and organizations. More than 100 businesses and organizations provide career exploration and job internship opportunities, which benefit students from all parts of the community.

The seven-week summer program runs June 3 through Aug. 2. After two weeks of employment training, interns will report to their work sites on June 17.

Last summer, six interns were hosted at UNMC, in departments that included human resources, the chancellor’s office, office of academic affairs, orthopedic surgery and rehabilitation, hospital medicine-internal medicine, the Munroe-Meyer Institute and Global Center for Health Security.

Evelyn Grixby, UNMC’s program coordinator, is hoping for an equally successful year in 2024.

“We would be excited to work with every UNMC colleague interested in the opportunity to host, mentor and connect students ages 16 to 21 to their careers of interest, in a welcoming environment,” Grixby said. “It’s important for the interns to have access to soft skills training through meaningful experiences, which will be transformational and lead to their success in future careers.”

Sarah Gloden Carlson, JD, assistant vice chancellor and director for human resources for UNMC and chief compliance officer, said: “Each summer, the students who come to UNMC through the Step-Up Omaha program make a huge impact on our campus and community. We are so fortunate to have this opportunity to get to know them. We hope they see the experience as a chance to imagine a future working in a health care educational environment and to see how they can make a difference.

“We are excited to have them join us.”

For more information on hosting an intern and joining the effort to connect the youth in the community to career exploration and job internship opportunities, contact Grixby via email to discuss the program and request a job request form. Job request forms must be received no later than April 5.

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