Before walking across the stage to receive her high school diploma in May, 18-year-old Payton Miller was already a co-author in a medical abstract.
Miller spent the past two years as an intern at UofL Health, an opportunity provided by the Corporate Internship Program at Holy Cross High School.
Holy Cross offers an internship for junior and senior years of high school. Students attend their internship one day each week instead of regular classes.
Miller, who completed her two-year internship at UofL Health’s Infection Prevention and Control department, said she knew she wanted to pursue an internship in a hospital setting.
“I’ve always been interested in healthcare,” Miller said in a recent interview.
But, she credited Shelly Pence, previous director of the internship program and now principal of Holy Cross, for her placement at UofL Health.
“I feel like I had the best internship,” said Miller. “Every member of the team included me.”
Under the leadership of Crystal Heishman, her supervisor at UofL Health, Miller took part in the regular activities of her department, including attending meetings, going on rounds and collecting data along with the other team members.
She also assisted her team in the publication of a medical abstract. The abstract, “Enhancing Patient Safety Through Nurse-Driven Central Line Management,” will be published in the American Journal of Infection Control.
“They pushed me out of my comfort zone,” said Miller. She noted that the experience allowed her to become comfortable in high-pressure situations and to grow in professionalism.
The internship program also opened up new opportunities, she said. She received a job offer from UofL Health, working in sterile processing support. With that job, she can participate in the free tuition partnership between the University of Louisville and UofL Health. She said she couldn’t pass that up.
After a high school career playing basketball, softball and soccer, Miller will attend the University of Louisville this fall for sports administration, with hopes to pursue sports therapy.
“I want to do something I am passionate about,” she said.
To students with similar internship opportunities, Miller advised: “Show you have interest. Say yes to opportunity. Go into it with a mature attitude. Create opportunities for yourself if opportunities aren’t coming to you.”
