Monroe-2 Orleans BOCES New Visions students visiting the Family Birth Place at Unity Hospital were able to shadow a Physician’s Assistant who graduated from the same New Visions program not that long ago.
Sophia Avery, a 2014 graduate of Brockport High School and the New Visions Health Professions program, is working with students currently enrolled in the program to show them what it’s like to work inside a hospital.
“New Visions opened my eyes and allowed me to realize what I wanted to do for the rest of my life before I graduated,” says Sophia. “I learned the importance of respect, diversity, empathy, compassion, and quality communication. These are skills I utilize and continue to build upon every single day.”
Sophia says it was during her time in the New Visions program she was able to see cesarean sections and live births and discover her love for women’s health. Now, five years later, she is a provider in a birthing center she shadowed during her time in New Visions, helping students who stand where she once did.
“I love to encourage students to keep learning and discover their passion. Students are the future; they are the change we all wish to see in the world,” says Sophia. “I aim to be their mentor, an educator, and a resource as students navigate the difficult transition to the workforce, or onto higher education.”
Sophia hopes the students working with her take away the importance of hard work. “Continue to ask lots of questions, push boundaries, seek new opportunities, and never be satisfied,” she says as a piece of advice for New Visions students. “Continue to use your hard work, drive, and passion with everything you do in life, and the sky is your limit.”
“As I reflect on my teaching career, these moments are the most meaningful. Having the privilege of pairing a former student with a current student, is a unique opportunity,” says New Visions instructor Pam Suess. “This ‘full-circle’ event is clearly the greatest strength of the New Visions Program. The impact the program has on students, from networking with healthcare professionals to discovering their purpose, is real. All of my former students, over the past 19 years, have adopted the phrase ‘New Visions 4 Life.’ I am so fortunate to have such amazing students; they are the heartbeat of the New Visions Program.”
This New Visions class visits Unity Hospital every Tuesday and Thursday to shadow people working in the profession in which they are interested.
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