On March 7, 2026, the Department of Surgery hosted a surgical skills workshop in partnership with the HOPE Program.
This workshop gave hands-on learning experiences to high school students. To start the sessions, students learned about suturing and laparoscopic tools. Then, they had hands-on practice where they tried suturing and laparoscopic exercises with guidance from residents and faculty. Overall, the workshop gave students experience with teamwork, precision and problem-solving in surgery.
Thank you to the faculty, residents and medical student volunteers for supporting this event. A special thank you to Dr. Lee Wilke, Dr. Dawda Jawara, Dr. Melanie Fritz, Emily Zona, Trenton LeDocq and Mike Plaza for volunteering their time, engaging with the high school students and showing such great enthusiasm throughout the workshop.
The Health Occupations and Professions Exploration (HOPE) Program is a day-long experiential learning seminar that is designed to offer groups of high school students the opportunity to learn about the breadth of careers in health care.