Penn Medicine Pipeline Program Makes a Difference
Darien McClennon was a junior at Boys Latin Philadelphia Charter when he first heard about the Penn Medicine High School Pipeline Program. He wasn’t sure what he wanted to do in life, but when an administrator recommended he apply to work at Penn, he leapt at the chance.
The High School Pipeline Program, which is launching its 10th cohort this year, began in 2007 as a summer internship and has evolved into a two-year college preparatory and work development program. The program places 40 students a year from West Philadelphia high schools in internships throughout the Health System. It also provides college-level classes at the Community College of Philadelphia (CCP), putting students on track to graduate from a two- or four-year institution and then return to work full-time at Penn Medicine.
While McClenon initially wanted to be a lawyer, he felt right at home during his Pipeline internships. He also discovered a passion for advertising from his work with Penn Medicine Academy. He’s currently a freshman at Muhlenberg College, but has the credits of a sophomore and plans to declare a major in advertising.
Ashley Mason, another Pipeline student, thought she wanted to be a nurse when she heard about the Pipeline program as a sophomore at Paul Robeson High School, but, through her internships, found that she enjoyed administrative work more than clinical care. After graduating from high school, she attended CCP on a full scholarship and graduated with an associate’s degree in Health Services Management. She was hired by the Musculoskeletal Center, and went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in Health Administration from St. Joseph’s University.
Mason worked at CHOP for about a year, but is now back at Penn, as a practice manager in Maternal and Fetal Medicine in OB/GYN – one of 13 students from the program who are currently full-time employees at Penn Medicine — and is “never leaving again.” She believes that the mentorship and professional skills she learned through the program were crucial to her success. This year, she will graduate with a master’s degree from Eastern University.
“Some students may have thought that they didn’t want to seek additional education after high school, but as a result of completing their coursework at CCP found that they had the tenacity and brain power to continue at a two or four-year school,” said Daniel Bryan, the academic coordinator for the Pipeline Program. “It's a great feeling to watch them succeed, as if they were my own children.”
For more information about the Pipeline Program, contact Bryan at daniel.bryan@pennmedicine.upenn.edu or 267.758.4600.