Mentoring Program
About the Program
S.C.A.R.F.’s Career Guidance and Mentorship Program partners with students in high schools and colleges, giving them the unique opportunity to learn, practice, and prepare for their future -while helping their community at the same time.
Keeping up with S.C.A.R.F.’s mission to raise awareness and decrease the incidence of sudden cardiac-arrest/death, our students, upon successful completion of the requirements of the program become lifelong Ambassadors of our organization.
By partnering with students, S.C.A.R.F. is laying the foundation to positively impact and educate students, and our community in the coming year.
How The Program Started
In the summer of 2012, S.C.A.R.F. delivered its first official Mentorship and Career Guidance program. The mentoring program unofficially began around 10 years ago with just a few students shadowing Dr. Nguyen. Students gained much-needed guidance and the requests from new students increased. In 2013, S.C.A.R.F. decided to formalize the program and since then, it has been expanding by leaps and bounds.
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The Basics
Every year the S.C.A.R.F.’s Mentorship and Career Guidance Program steadily grows. An application to become a SCARF student must be completed by mid-December for the upcoming summer. After applications are submitted, selected students are invited to meet for an in-person interview. If you are a student that shows a strong desire to learn, commitment and dedication to service, and a passion to save lives, we invite you to apply to S.C.A.R.F.’s Mentorship and Career Guidance Program.
The program is designed to be a hands-on learning experience for students who want to learn about health, professionalism, and ways to make a difference in their community. The sobering truth about heart disease is that it’s becoming increasingly prevalent and starting at an early age. Students take part in a variety of activities including listening to lectures, observing doctors and nurse practitioners in clinic, working on group and individual research projects, and organizing and taking part in community awareness events.
Over the course of the summer, students build a foundation for a lifetime of analytical learning, critical thinking, teamwork, and higher education. One of the ways this is achieved is by pursuing a project, which is tailored to each student’s individual interest and goals. At the end of the program, S.C.A.R.F. hosts its Annual Scientific Symposium, where students present their research projects and the knowledge that they have acquired over the summer.
What Makes S.C.A.R.F. Stand Out?
Students are given the rare opportunity to directly observe and learn from Dr. Paul Nguyen and his team of affiliated doctors, surgeons, NP’s as they diagnose and treats patients. By giving students the opportunity to participate in this program, they get a comprehensive view and understanding of the diagnosis and symptoms of sudden cardiac arrest and other life-threatening cardiovascular threats.
Whether it’s coaching students on their interviews and applications for college/professional schools, or acting as a resource for career path development, at S.C.A.R.F., we believe that each student has unique strengths. We help our students identify and use their strengths to help them overcome challenges.
Every summer the S.C.A.R.F. family grows. Each student from the previous summer becomes a S.C.A.R.F. Ambassador, striving to spread awareness of sudden cardiac-death within their own communities and forging cultures of awareness. S.C.A.R.F.'s growing community thrives on interconnectivity and a culture of support.