Med Center Health wraps up 2026 teen ambassador program
Published 6:00 am Saturday, July 18, 2026
Teen Volunteers Noah Carnal and Hannah Simpson participate in Med Center Health’s 2026 Summer Teen Ambassador Program. (Submitted)
Several Southcentral Kentucky high school students have spent their summer volunteering at Med Center Health as part of the hospital’s five-week Summer Teen Ambassador Program Med Center’s Manager of Volunteer Services
“They’re gaining experience within healthcare to see what they might want to do as they get older and start to choose careers,” Shanklin said
Out of roughly 60 applicants between 14 to 17 years old, Shanklin said 25 students from high schools had the opportunity to volunteer alongside healthcare professionals. Students were split into two groups throughout the summer — with Med Center seeing about 12 to 13 teens each day
Shanklin said prospective applicants were required to submit applications, written essays and letters of recommendation for the program. Volunteers were ultimately chosen based on their merit
Selected applicants had the opportunity to rotate through different Med Center departments throughout the course of the program
Shanklin said this opportunity allows students to gain experience and network in the medical field, but it also garners appreciation for healthcare professionals as a whole
“This gives everybody a great feel for what they may like and what they may dislike,” Shanklin said
Shanklin said teen volunteer Kaleigh Andrews is a proactive volunteer in the program this summer. Andrews, a senior at Warren Central High School, said she plans to major in biology and pursue a career in healthcare after high school
Andrews volunteers from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays at Med Center. She said she was ecstatic when she found out she was selected for the program
While she has always wanted to be an optometrist, Andrews said this opportunity at Med Center has opened her mind to different possibilities in healthcare
“It shows you that there’s so many different opportunities,” Andrews said. “ … You can just look at the patients, talk to the patients and just hear all the other experiences.”
Andrews said one benefit of the program is being able to shadow healthcare professionals as they interact with patients. She said she appreciates and admires all the nurses doing their jobs in big and small ways, and it gives her hope for her future in healthcare
“It makes me excited for my future, and I just love seeing all the nurses do their job,” Andrews said. “Even if they’re just doing the smallest things, I really appreciate what they’re doing.”
More information about the Teen Ambassador Program can be found at medcenterhealth.org/teen-ambassador-program/
