Since 2018, Medline has hosted students from Baker College Prep – a public, four-year charter high school in Chicago’s South Chicago neighborhood– providing mentors, a professional learning experience, and a unique look at career opportunities within healthcare manufacturing and distribution.

Each summer, Medline hosts a week-long program for a select group of rising seniors. The students tour and spend time at Medline’s headquarters in Northfield, Illinois; meet key staff and mentors; receive introductions to the various divisions, including research and development; and learn first-hand how products are manufactured and delivered to healthcare facilities and patients throughout the U.S. and world. The students also engage in team activities that involve solving real challenges faced by Medline product divisions. The following spring, the students return to meet with their mentors before heading off to college and other opportunities.

“I think when they walk in the door and they see that big Medline banner and they see all of us interacting and working within our different areas and having a discussion about work, I think they can see themselves in those individuals,” said Ben Duck, Medline general manager, diagnostics and a Baker College Prep mentor. “I think it gave them a real world example of what their career could potentially look like.”

The students “really got more of an understanding of what it takes to get into the medical field, but also the different pathways they can take in terms of which area of the healthcare field they want to go into,” said Sandra Ibe, mentor and Medline integrated marketing manager.

To date, 50 students have completed the Medline Baker College Prep Mentorship Program, with another group scheduled to start this summer.

Students ‘think critically as they solve problems’

Lorri Marlow, director of philanthropic operations and development at Noble Schools, calls the program “transformative.

“The team at Medline genuinely cares about Baker students, and puts in the effort to get to know them—their stories, the things that excite them, and what they aspire to do,” Marlow continued. “Our students have responded so well because the Medline team shows them they care and has tailored the experience for them. Baker students also appreciate being challenged—this experience has pushed them to think critically as they solve problems, and it has led them outside of their comfort zone— building skills and exposing them to so many new people and potential opportunities for their futures.”

After completing the program, participating students maintain “a very special bond,” said Marlow. “The Medline group has taken on some prestige. The program has really picked up momentum to the point where now students are coming to find me and ask how they get to be part of it.”

For Medline, the program reflects “how we want to give back in the communities where we live and work,” said Karen Frey, Medline senior philanthropy manager. “And when you partner a young person with a mentor, amazing things happen.”

Learn more about how Medline is making a difference in our communities.