From curiosity to career: SIH summer interns discover what’s possible in healthcare
For 52 Southern Illinois high school students, summer break offered something more than time away from the classroom. It offered a chance to step inside hospitals, operating rooms and clinical departments and begin imagining where they might fit in the future.
The 2026 SIH High School Summer Internship welcomed its largest class ever, with students representing 15 local high school districts. During the six-week program, interns spent two to three days each week exploring healthcare careers and shadowing professionals across 19 departments at SIH Memorial Hospital of Carbondale, SIH Herrin Hospital and SIH St. Joseph Memorial Hospital.
For SIH Human Resources Recruiter and High School Summer Internship Coordinator Jessica Vicente, that exploration is exactly the point.
“We try to see what interests students have, and then we try to put them in those departments that fulfill those interests,” Vicente said. “We also place them in other departments that they may not be aware of, just so they can see what else is out there.”
Students observe real patient care and procedures but do not provide hands-on care. The experience gives them access many students wouldn’t otherwise have until college clinical rotations — when they may have already invested significant time and money pursuing a particular career.
For three-time intern Rachael Reams, the program changed her plans.
The 2026 Herrin High School graduate entered the internship thinking emergency nursing might be her future. Exposure to another specialty introduced a possibility she hadn’t considered.
“I really want to go into labor and delivery so I can be a part of people’s special moments in life and just be there for them when they need comfort,” Reams said.
This fall, she is beginning the licensed practical nursing program at John A. Logan College. Her advice to other students is simple: Try it, especially if you aren’t certain what you want to do.
“Before, I thought I wanted to do just emergency department. Never thought about labor and delivery,” she said. “You never know what you’ll get.”
Fellow three-time intern Amari Rose, a 2026 Sesser-Valier High School graduate, also credits the experience with helping narrow his career direction. Rose spent much of this summer alongside physical therapists and other team members at SIH Outpatient Rehabilitation in Energy, where he enjoyed getting to know patients he saw several times each week.
His internship experiences helped influence both his college choice and coursework. Rose plans to major in exercise science and sports performance and ultimately pursue a career in physical therapy.
For Ella Zimmerle, an incoming senior at Carterville High School, two summers with SIH have shown her that interests can change once students move beyond textbooks and experience healthcare firsthand.
After initially finding little interest in obstetrics during her first summer, Zimmerle returned to the area this year and discovered a different perspective. She now sees general surgery or obstetrics and gynecology as possible career paths.
One experience especially stands out: observing a hysterectomy performed by an all-female surgical and nursing team.
For Ella’s mother, Stacy Zimmerle, equally meaningful has been watching her daughter interact with healthcare professionals across SIH.
“I was very impressed with how Ella told me about her experiences,” Stacy said, describing how team members ranging from nurses and surgeons to certified registered nurse anesthetists and physician assistants welcomed Ella’s questions about their education, career choices and experiences.
Ella also observed several births this summer and encountered patients with very different circumstances and experiences, exposure her mother believes has broadened her understanding not only of medicine, but of the people receiving care.
For Vicente, those connections are another important part of the program. Students meet people already working in careers they may be considering, giving them opportunities to ask questions, build relationships and learn what it takes to get there.
And many, like Rachael and Amari, return for another summer.
For students wondering whether healthcare might be right for them, Ella has an answer.
“If you want to do something in the medical field, this is a way to see everything,” she said.
The 2026 SIH High School Summer Internship welcomed its largest class ever, with students representing 15 local high school districts. During the six-week program, interns spent two to three days each week exploring healthcare careers and shadowing professionals across 19 departments at SIH Memorial Hospital of Carbondale, SIH Herrin Hospital and SIH St. Joseph Memorial Hospital.
For SIH Human Resources Recruiter and High School Summer Internship Coordinator Jessica Vicente, that exploration is exactly the point.
“We try to see what interests students have, and then we try to put them in those departments that fulfill those interests,” Vicente said. “We also place them in other departments that they may not be aware of, just so they can see what else is out there.”
Students observe real patient care and procedures but do not provide hands-on care. The experience gives them access many students wouldn’t otherwise have until college clinical rotations — when they may have already invested significant time and money pursuing a particular career.
For three-time intern Rachael Reams, the program changed her plans.
The 2026 Herrin High School graduate entered the internship thinking emergency nursing might be her future. Exposure to another specialty introduced a possibility she hadn’t considered.
“I really want to go into labor and delivery so I can be a part of people’s special moments in life and just be there for them when they need comfort,” Reams said.
This fall, she is beginning the licensed practical nursing program at John A. Logan College. Her advice to other students is simple: Try it, especially if you aren’t certain what you want to do.
“Before, I thought I wanted to do just emergency department. Never thought about labor and delivery,” she said. “You never know what you’ll get.”
Fellow three-time intern Amari Rose, a 2026 Sesser-Valier High School graduate, also credits the experience with helping narrow his career direction. Rose spent much of this summer alongside physical therapists and other team members at SIH Outpatient Rehabilitation in Energy, where he enjoyed getting to know patients he saw several times each week.
His internship experiences helped influence both his college choice and coursework. Rose plans to major in exercise science and sports performance and ultimately pursue a career in physical therapy.
For Ella Zimmerle, an incoming senior at Carterville High School, two summers with SIH have shown her that interests can change once students move beyond textbooks and experience healthcare firsthand.
After initially finding little interest in obstetrics during her first summer, Zimmerle returned to the area this year and discovered a different perspective. She now sees general surgery or obstetrics and gynecology as possible career paths.
One experience especially stands out: observing a hysterectomy performed by an all-female surgical and nursing team.
For Ella’s mother, Stacy Zimmerle, equally meaningful has been watching her daughter interact with healthcare professionals across SIH.
“I was very impressed with how Ella told me about her experiences,” Stacy said, describing how team members ranging from nurses and surgeons to certified registered nurse anesthetists and physician assistants welcomed Ella’s questions about their education, career choices and experiences.
Ella also observed several births this summer and encountered patients with very different circumstances and experiences, exposure her mother believes has broadened her understanding not only of medicine, but of the people receiving care.
For Vicente, those connections are another important part of the program. Students meet people already working in careers they may be considering, giving them opportunities to ask questions, build relationships and learn what it takes to get there.
And many, like Rachael and Amari, return for another summer.
For students wondering whether healthcare might be right for them, Ella has an answer.
“If you want to do something in the medical field, this is a way to see everything,” she said.