Camp HEAL: Medical Adventures

Students who are part of the Future Health Professionals club were able to visit Scicon to learn more about the medical field.

By Liliana Madrigal

This past weekend, Rangers were able to participate in a field trip to Scicion to meet medical students and doctors for advice and activities. This trip was also available to other schools in the Visalia Unified School District.

Ms.Rodriguez, who teaches World History at Redwood, and does Dual Enrollment for ethnic studies, and is also part of the board of directors at Kaweah Health, played a major role in setting it all up.

When asked what inspired her to set this vision in motion, she says, “It starts with the need for more opportunities for those going into the healthcare field, so trying to get pathways for students, whether it’s nursing, a physician assistant, or being a doctor.”

It’s crucial to create more chances and opportunities for students to be able to experience what their life may be like in the future and decide whether or not they want to pursue this dream.

Sadie Trujillo ‘26 wants to be a registered nurse when she’s older. She says, “I just wanted to learn more about health care…I was feeling pretty nervous but in the end it felt really good.”

Trujillo’s curiosity to explore more in healthcare, led her to feel fulfilled with her decision to go to the camp.

In sixth grade, most students enjoyed visiting Scicon for a week, but coming back for a weekend turned out to be greater than expected.

Angel Xiong ‘25, who wants to be a registered nurse, says, “It felt very nostalgic and it was very fun. It was better than going to Scicon in sixth grade…my favorite part was hanging out at night in the cafeteria, called the Lodge.”

There were also mentors at the camp, some who were counselors for students and some who went on Zoom to give advice and answer questions for students. These mentors varied from medical students, medical scribes, and resident doctors. Doctors from Kaweah Health were at Camp Heal as well.

Audrey Conley ‘26, says, “My favorite activity was probably the family time because we were in groups and we called them families. We had questions and our counselors; they were like parents, who gave us answers and we got to know each other.”

Conley was inspired to go on this trip by wanting to become a doctor when she is older. She says, “Once I graduate highschool, I wish to become a dermatologist and I thought HEAL camp could give me some advice as I would be talking to medical professionals and those in medicine.”

On Saturday, students had a full day of activity time, Trujillo says, “We did a thing called splinting, like we wrapped arms and we learned how to put someone on the board for the EMS…”

Students were involved in a fun activity called the Medical Olympics. After activity time, where they learned how to splint, use a tourniquet, staple, do an ultrasound, and much more, the families had to compete against each other to win a gold medal.

Rodriguez says, “My favorite activity was the Medical Olympics because everybody was timed and they were pumped up with their team. There was yelling and crying, and even the winners wore their medals the next day. I think that was super fun. The ultrasound was hilarious trying to get it on people. One counselor went all out for his team and that was hilarious…The energy was just beautiful.”

Scicon is a beautiful sight, with lots of trees, trials, and creeks. Xiong says, “It was really nice, I loved the trees and the little creek, it was very calming.”

After a long day of doing activities and socializing, Trujillo says, “It’s nice to walk back to the cabins and see the view…it’s really pretty. It’s nice and fresh.”

Ms. Rodriguez’s favorite memory of the entire trip “is making it happen. It was months in the making. I cried. I was frustrated. I was annoyed and so just having all those emotions, at the end, being happy and my cup was filled. I would one hundred percent do it again and I plan to do it again and just double it.”

After persevering through these couple months, Ms. Rodriguez was able to plan and accomplish the medical camp HEAL, for students of all backgrounds to participate and enjoy.

Rodriguez says, “I got text messages saying, ‘This was so dope and awesome’, ‘We want to come back next year’, and ‘How can we participate and help’ because every single student enjoyed it.”
Conley’s favorite memory was, “A lot of us from different teams, someone brought Uno, an Uno deck, and we all got together and had a party. It was amazing with tons of emotions.”

If you’re interested in the medical field, but weren’t able to attend this year’s camp, look out for next year! Rodriguez says, “We’re trying to get it hopefully for October next year!”