Nearly a decade after attending a summer program at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa’s medical school as a high school student, Zoey Simmons returned, not as a participant, but as a first-year medical student helping inspire the next generation.
Eighty-four high school students capped off a week of hands-on learning at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa’s John A. Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM) in July, as part of the 18th Annual Medical Diagnosis and Treatment (MDT) Summer Program.
“Prior to coming to MDT, I had done a lot in terms of exploring my love for math and science,” said Simmons, a Mililani High School graduate, who participated in the program in 2015. “But I hadn’t really, truly got to experience the clinical side of medicine. It’s like a mini medical school.”
Through the program, Simmons said she realized she might actually have what it takes to pursue medicine. “I remember wearing the white coat for the first time, and my simulation video was selected and shown to all participants. That moment really stuck with me—like maybe I could actually do this.”
Coming full circle
After earning her degree in molecular cell biology at UH Mānoa, Simmons entered JABSOM in fall 2024 and returned to the MDT Program as a volunteer. This year, she served as co-chair of the Neighbor Island Medical Scholars Program, which brought 10 students from the neighbor islands with support from Kaiser Permanente.
“I wish every student interested in medicine could attend MDT,” Simmons said. “It’s such a special thing.”
She now works alongside the same professors who mentored her as a teen.
“One of the reasons why I want to go into medicine in the first place is to be able to leave long-lasting positive impacts on people’s lives,” she said. “I just believe that you should try and go back and pay it forward.”
