Inspiring the Next Generation: Medline Empowers Students through Unique Internship Experience

Seniors from South Chicago’s Baker College Prep returned to Medline’s Northfield campus this March for the winter segment of the company’s STEM-based internship program. The 2-part experience gives high school student a one-of-a-kind opportunity to learn about healthcare and tackle real-world problems within the field.

During the first part of the program, which took place summer 2019, students toured different facilities and met with multiple teams, including product developers and R&D experts. In the second part of the program, students worked on identifying usability problems with a product and ways to improve them. They brainstormed solutions and developed those into prototypes with the help of Medline’s R&D design engineers who acted as mentors. Students then conducted user testing and presented their products, which included a 3D-printed thermometer with a single sliding button, and a walker with additional brakes.

“It gives them a great learning experience and a great window into what their post-college world could look like, and what options are out there,” said Baker’s principal Mary Arrigo in a Chicago Tribune interview.

Medline leverages its expertise and resources as a leading medical supplier and distributor to organize internships and experiences that encourage and inspire students across Illinois. In addition to its program for Baker Prep students, Medline also offers college students summer internships in Northfield, Waukegan and Mundelein, Illinois. In addition to attracting potential new hires, these internships give student a chance to develop their professionals skills and apply what they’ve learned in school.

Medline also promotes student development through its Illinois Tech Senior Design Initiative, a nine-month long program for senior biomedical engineering students at IIT. In the program students compete to design a product that solves a real-world problem. Six participants have gone on to land full-time jobs within the company, and one team was even granted a patent for their project.

Collectively, these experiences offer multiple opportunities for students to gain career knowledge and prepare for roles in and out of STEM that will enable them to make a positive impact on their communities.

“The opportunities here are wide reaching,” Karen Frey, senior philanthropy manager at Medline. “Medline is a microcosm of so many job opportunities out there in the world…of what you could potentially do. You could do sales, HR, finance, design, research and development — that’s all here. And we’re proud to expose all these different facets to the next generation.”

Learn more about how Medline is impacting communities.