Hui Qiao Wu is representative of many of the students who participate in HealthPATH’s Health Excellence & Academic Leadership (HEAL) internship program. Her parents immigrated to the United States from China when she was seven years old in pursuit of better opportunities for their children. They speak little English and, as their oldest child, Hui Qiao often plays the role of translator and navigator for her family. Her father works as a cook in a Chinese restaurant and her mother stays at home to watch the children. No one in her family has ever attended college.
Hui Qiao first participated in the HEAL program as an eighth grader at Oakland’s Edna Brewer middle school. She knew then that she wanted to pursue a career in healthcare, but she wasn’t entirely sure what she wanted to do. She re-enrolled in HEAL as a high school student at Oakland High and after that experience decided she wanted to be a nurse. Hui Qiao was exceptionally driven and sought any opportunity she could to learn more about the healthcare field. During her last two years in High School, she was a dedicated volunteer in the HealthPATH program and participated in other health internship programs.
In recognition of her hard work and contributions to the HealthPATH program, HealthPATH awarded Hui Qiao a $10,000 college scholarship through the Oakland Promise (formerly the East Bay College Fund), an organization that HealthPATH has partnered with over the past several years to support students to attend college and continue on their path toward a healthcare career.
This month, Hui Qiao is starting her freshman year at University of California, Los Angeles where she was accepted into their Nursing program. We couldn’t be prouder of Hui Qiao and know that she’ll make an amazing nurse one day. As with so many young people who have gone through HealthPATH’s programs, Hui Qiao’s early exposure to healthcare careers, the opportunity to gain firsthand experience interning in a hospital, the support of mentors and caring adults, and the guidance and assistance we were able to offer played an important role in getting her where she is today: in one of the state’s top Nursing schools on her way to being a future healthcare provider.