Inspiring Tomorrow’s Leaders: UCSF Medical Students Mentor High Schoolers Through Summer Camps

Each summer, UCSF medical students lead immersive health science camps for local high schoolers—part of the School of Medicine’s commitment to community engagement and building a diverse physician workforce. UCSF Student Affairs and the Center for Science Education and Outreach partner with medical students to create these transformative learning experiences. These free programs aim to spark curiosity, confidence, and a deeper understanding of health careers among future changemakers.

STEM Immersion & Hands-On Science

“Before Brain Camp, I didn’t know what I wanted to do. Now I want to become a neurologist.” – Brain Camp Camper

This transformation is exactly what UCSF School of Medicine summer camps aim to spark. Every summer, UCSF medical students organize and lead immersive, hands-on learning experiences for Bay Area high school students. From exploring pig brain dissections to demystifying immunology, these programs are planting the seeds of curiosity and mentorship in medicine.

Brain Camp

Brain Camp, which began in 2017, now serves nearly 50 high school students from the Bay Area each summer. It aims to expose high school students to the world of medicine, help campers prepare for college using a combination of workshops and longitudinal mentorship programs, and facilitate lasting connections between campers and UCSF medical students and faculty.

UCSF medical student Kunal Shroff serves as Brain Camp’s curriculum director, leading medical students in organizing camp week activities. A member of the Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP), Kunal incorporates workshops and activities that highlight the role research plays in advancing health care.

This year, the campers visited the UCSF Mission Bay campus and met with practicing neuroscientists. Other camp activities include lectures from UCSF faculty on various areas of neurology, including stroke, epilepsy, and brain tumors. Hands-on activities ranged from dissecting a pig brain to working with a brain-computer interface and experiencing cutting-edge virtual reality (VR) therapies developed at UCSF to protect against cognitive decline.

Kunal said, “Whether or not campers pursue medicine, we hope that programs like Brain Camp can demystify medicine and promote trust in health care practitioners throughout the community.”

ImmunoExplore

“I loved how ImmunoExplore was so hands-on and gave us the opportunity to share what we learned and put it to work.” – ImmunoExplore Camper

Inspired by Brain Camp, Anita Qualls, a MSTP student studying Immunology in Dr. Jay Gardner’s lab, founded ImmunoExplore in 2022. She created this immunology-focused camp designed to ignite interest and open pathways for high school students.

Anita said, “I have a passion for education and mentoring and love working with students. I thought it would be wonderful to expose high school students to the rich and diverse immunology community at UCSF.”

The camp introduces immunology through fun, hands-on science, with the goal of helping high schoolers see themselves in STEM careers. Anita shared, “We want every student to feel more confident in themselves and more connected to the world of science.”

The first ImmunoExplore camp launched in 2023 with 25 students participating in a three-day camp. The program has grown each year, and this year, it hosted 30 students for five full days. Activities include pig kidney transplantation, a patient mystery case, and presentations on Myths of Infectious Disease Throughout History, among others. Medical students, especially MSTP students, serve on the camp’s executive board, as members of the curriculum planning committee, and medical student volunteers lead suturing and ultrasound workshops.

Looking toward her own future, Anita added, “ImmunoExplore has been the most joyful part of my PhD. It’s reminded me how much I love teaching and mentoring students. I hope to keep education – and maybe even pediatrics – as a big part of my future.”

Building Community

In addition to STEM-focused camps, UCSF medical students have developed camps that highlight the importance of embracing community and mentorship to navigate long-term personal, academic, and professional success.

NABARI

The NABARI Camp surprised me with its mix of medical learning and discussions that made everyone feel included. Hearing medical students share their challenges and their journeys to medicine was inspiring.” – NABARI Camper.

The Native American Bay Area Reach Initiative (NABARI) Camp, established in 2022 by UCSF medical students, inspires the next generation of Native leaders and highlights the importance of Indigenous representation in higher education.

The NABARI Camp empowers Indigenous youth through culture, education, and community. It fosters leadership skills and connects youth with Native mentors, creating a supportive space to reclaim Indigenous knowledge, inspire pride, and nurture the next generation of changemakers.

The camp has grown each year and now hosts 6-10 campers each summer.  Over time, the camp has expanded cultural activities and invited Native leaders in business, law, medicine, and policy to inspire the campers.

Participants engage in cultural workshops, healing circles, field trips, and leadership panels. UCSF medical students play integral roles in the camp, serving as camp directors who coordinate programming and guiding campers through restorative justice, traditional food making, and community-building activities.

Nikki Kalani Apana, MS4, a NABARI Camp Director and Native Hawaiian, said, “NABARI affirmed my passion for mentoring Native youth. The experience strengthened my commitment to addressing health disparities and equipped me with leadership skills that will shape my future in medicine and beyond.”

Sharing her hope for campers, Nikki said, “I hope they leave with a deep sense of pride in being Native and the belief that they are resilient changemakers. No matter their path, they have the power to shift narratives, overcome adversity, and create a more just future.”

Cardiac Camp

"Hearing UCSF medical students’ stories was inspiring. I learned from their experiences, which motivated me to overcome my own challenges and pursue a career in health care." – Cardiac Camp Camper.

Cardiac Camp provides high school students with a hands-on educational experience to learn about cardiovascular health. It seeks to improve health literacy by teaching students about the cardiovascular system, providing hands-on exposure to clinical tools and concepts, and building a long-term mentorship pipeline by pairing campers with UCSF medical students and faculty.

Cardiac Camp was founded in 2023 by UCSF medical students passionate about education, mentorship, and representation in health care. The first camp cohort included 10 high school students. This year, 30 high school students participated.

What began as a one-week summer program has evolved into a longitudinal mentorship initiative, still entirely led by UCSF medical students. Starting this year, the Junior Counselor program gives camp alumni the opportunity to return to camp, be paired with a UCSF medical student mentor, and run activities and small group discussions. Junior Counselors share what they have learned with the new campers and contribute to an expanding mentorship network.

The camp includes a mix of lectures, small group sessions, and hands-on activities. These activities include

CPR training, physical exam skills, suturing workshops, and cardio point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS). New sessions this year include a wellness activity integrating medical humanities and art, a patient panel, and a pediatric cardiology lecture.

Second-year medical students Ruby Tang and Abum Okemgbo serve as co-lead directors for Cardiac Camp. They manage fundraising and donor outreach, oversee curriculum development, mentorship, and admissions and outreach efforts.

Both Ruby and Abum had experience leading pre-health mentorship programs before matriculating at UCSF. While at UCLA, Ruby founded and led a pre-health mentorship program for students at Title I high schools in Los Angeles County. Abum supported refugee students by tutoring them in STEM, English, and GED preparation, and organizing shadowing opportunities with local physicians.

Abum said, “These experiences reaffirmed how meaningful it is to provide students with exposure, guidance, and a sense of belonging in spaces like medicine. Cardiac Camp allows me to help create inclusive, enriching learning experiences for students who might not otherwise see themselves reflected in this field.”

Jessica Ainoonson, MS4, a past Cardiac Camp co-lead director, reflected, “Part of my journey to medicine included participating in programs like Cardiac Camp when I was in high school. In my leadership role with Cardiac Camp, I was able to create that experience for other students. I will take my passion for community engagement, mentorship, and medical education with me to residency next year.”

Together, Brain Camp, ImmunoExplore, NABARI, and Cardiac Camp highlight UCSF’s commitment to nurturing curiosity, representation, and mentorship – creating pathways into medicine for the next generation.

For more information on UCSF’s health sciences education opportunities for K-12 students, visit UCSF’s Center for Science Education and Outreach (CSEO) and the Science and Health Education Partnership (SEP).