Rukiya Curvey Johnson, MBA, executive director of the Rush Education and Career Hub (REACH), has a favorite African proverb that explains why REACH relies on partnerships to serve students: 鈥淚f you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.鈥 She and REACH Manager of Strategic Initiatives Natalia Gallegos, MPH, recently shared REACH鈥檚 story and impact in a webinar hosted by the national nonprofit JFF.
As part of JFF鈥檚 鈥淏uilding Equitable Pathways鈥 series, Curvey Johnson and Gallegos presented REACH鈥檚 work to prepare students for the workforce of the future by collaborating with Chicago Public Schools, local colleges, employers and colleagues throughout Rush.
In addition to showcasing REACH鈥檚 approach and its impact on more than 3,000 CPS students, teachers and families, they shared the story of Celeste, a graduate from Crane Medical Prep High School in 2018.
Through the Rush Health IT Pathways program, which provides intensive training in the Epic electronic health record system, Celeste earned two highly valuable Epic certifications while still in high school. She then completed her associate鈥檚 degree at Malcolm X College while working part-time as a clinical systems analyst at 脱衣直播.
Today, she鈥檚 a full-time student in the Bachelor of Health Sciences program at Rush University and is still working at Rush. 鈥淚鈥檓 able to focus on school, earn and gain valuable work experience,鈥 Celeste says.
She鈥檚 also more informed about her career options and empowered to continue on her path to a fulfilling career, says Curvey Johnson, and 鈥渢hat鈥檚 all because of the power of partnerships鈥 with Crane Medical Prep, Malcolm X, Epic and the Rush IT team that developed the program. 鈥淲e can鈥檛 do it alone; cross-sector collaborations are necessary to reduce disparities and promote equity,鈥 she says.
You can watch the full one-hour webinar , and learn more about REACH .
