Mayo Clinic CARES

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Program overview

Are you an Arizona high school student interested in exploring a career in healthcare? The mission of the Mayo Clinic Career Advancement, Research, and Education Summer (CARES) Program is to expose students to the whole spectrum of healthcare careers over the course of a summer and then provide them with a longitudinal mentorship experience.

During the program, you'll learn about the wide variety of careers in health care, establish connections, and discover the possibilities for your personal and professional journey. You can expect:

Exposure to a wide diversity of healthcare careers and professionals
Hands-on experiences in a hospital setting
Motivation through the discovery of personal strengths
Long-term mentorship opportunities beyond the program by selected Mayo Clinic mentors

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Video: Mayo Clinic CARES program

The program is based on learning your strengths and promoting wellness, to ultimately inspire you to become a future leader in the healthcare workforce.

Interested in some careers that the Mayo Clinic CARES program features? Check out these videos!

Past programming

The Mayo Clinic CARES Program was founded in 2019, and has grown from seven to 40 students in 2022, with both a combination of in-person and virtual programming over the last few years.

Class of 2019
Class of 2021
Class of 2022
Class of 2023

Class of 2019

Mayo Clinic CARES 2019 graduates pose for a group photo at Mayo Clinic in Phoenix, Arizona.

Class of 2021

Mayo Clinic CARES 2021 graduates pose for a group photo outside at Mayo Clinic in Phoenix, Arizona.

Class of 2022

Mayo Clinic CARES 2022 graduates pose for a group photo outside at Mayo Clinic in Phoenix, Arizona.

Class of 2023

Mayo Clinic CARES of Class of 2023

To view the program schedule and speaker agenda from past program years, click on the PDF links below:

2019 in-person program
2020 (program not in session)
2021 virtual program
2022 in-person program and 2022 virtual program
2023 in-person program and 2023 virtual program

Program leadership

Cuong Nguyen, M.D., AGAF, FACG, FASGE
Medical Director of Mayo Clinic CARES
Associate Dean for Global Professional Education
Medical Director, Supply Chain Management
Associate Professor of Medicine, College of Medicine

Chara Pruszynski, M.P.H.
Operations Manager

Maria Molina, M.S.
Program Director - Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Office for Education Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science
5777 E. Mayo Blvd
Phoenix, AZ 85054

Mayo Clinic CARES Steering Committee

Cuong Nguyen, M.D., AGAF, FACG, FASGE, Medical Director of Mayo Clinic CARES, Consultant, Gastroenterology and Hepatology, and Associate Professor of Medicine
Barbara Jordan, M.A., Administrator, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science
Nicole Billingsley, M.B.A., Operations Manager, Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine
Carlos Bravo, M.Ed., Admissions Recruiter, Office of Strategic Student Recruitment and Outreach, MCCMS
Anikar Chhabra, M.D., Chair, Division of Sports Medicine; Associate Chair of Clinical Practice, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Consultant and Professor of Orthopedic Surgery
Mary Sue Dumas, M.S.N., R.N., AMB-BC, Nursing Lead Arizona, Mayo Model of Community Care, Mayo Clinic Arizona, Instructor in Nursing
Brynn Goldberg, M.S.N., R.N., Manager, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, and Instructor in Orthopedics
Vicki Hochstetler, M.Ed., Operations Manager, Mayo Clinic School of Health Sciences
Janina Hogans, M.H.A., Clinical Operations Program Manager, Special Collaborations and Contracts
Yoshika (Yoshi) Ikeda, Education Administration Coordinator, Office for Education Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
Keith Jones, M.A., Program Manager, Office of Joy and Well-being
Asher Kaye, M.H.A., M.B.A., Operations Manager, Experiential Learning-Arizona
Kit Kough, M.A., Program Director, Mayo Clinic Center for the Humanities in Medicine
Shannon K. Laughlin-Tommaso, M.D., Consultant, Chair, Division of Gynecology, Associate Professor of Obstetrics-Gynecology, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Associate Dean of Office for Education Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Yerronda Lewis, M.B.A., Program Director-Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Office for Education Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Instructor in Health Care Administration
Ron Mack, Diversity Recruitment Specialist, Workforce Development
Maria Molina, M.S., Program Director-Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Office for Education Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Farhia Omar, M.P.H., Program Manager, Center for Health Equity and Community Engaged Research, Instructor in Healthcare Administration
Chara Pruszynski, M.P.H., Operations Manager, Office for Education Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Assistant Professor of Health Care Administration
Patricia Rodriguez, M.S., CME Specialist, Mayo Clinic School of Continuing Professional Development
Nicole Schuren, M.S.W., L.M.S.W., Pediatric/Adolescent Social Worker, Program Manager
Sharon Torres, Program Director-Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Office for Education Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Kairin Whiteside, CAVS, Director of Volunteer Services and Gift Shops

It’s exhilarating to see Mayo Clinic and the community joining hands to bring forward our best generations. A critical pathway to build the groundwork for further advancement of medical sciences. Mayo Clinic CARES is a mutually enriching experience for us all, and, more importantly, it is a wonderful way to build strong and enduring relationships with our learners and the community.

Cuong Nguyen, M.D., AGAF, FACG, FASGE
Medical Director of Mayo Clinic CARES

We are thrilled to be able to provide healthcare career exploration opportunities to high school students in the Valley. Providing access to health careers to all learners is something that the Office for Education Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion has sought to accomplish for a long time. This program is fantastic.

Barbara Jordan
Administrator, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science