Wellington High School rising junior Ava Rodgers is getting ready for a life-changing experience. Rogers, 16, will be joining outstanding high school students from throughout the U.S. to take part in a unique academic and career-oriented development experience. It’s called the National Youth Leadership Forum (NYLF): Medicine, which will take place June 11-19 on the campus of Emory University in Atlanta.
NYLF: Medicine is one of the Envision by WorldStrides family of programs that enable students to explore their interests and experience learning beyond the classroom. Rodgers was nominated to attend this forum. At WHS, she is in the equine/pre-veterinary program and is in the top three percent of her class.
Rodgers chose this program because of its strong focus on the sciences, which is her academic passion.
“I am so excited to attend this program,” she said. “It will allow me to cultivate my medical knowledge and give me the opportunity of learning more about all aspects of the medical field — some of which are medical school, residency programs, emergency medicine, nursing, physical therapy and medical ethics. This opportunity will allow me to explore avenues early so I can start on a clear path after high school. I’m so excited for the trip, and I can’t wait to experience it all!”
Rodgers’ main interest outside of school is playing volleyball. Right now, she plays for WHS on both its indoor volleyball team in the fall and the beach volleyball team in the spring. She also plays club volleyball for South Florida-based Tribe Volleyball.
Although Rodgers is an animal lover, she has aspirations of being a medical doctor. She is looking forward to cultivating her medical knowledge by the hands-on medical experience the forum will provide.
“As an alumna of Envision myself, I am excited for Ava to meet, work and collaborate with other high-aspiring students from across the country and the globe,” Envision’s Amanda Freitag Thomas said. “Hands down, my favorite part of attending an Envision program was being with motivated students in an environment designed to help us challenge our assumptions, meet new people and grow. Creating that same learning environment is a central focus for all of our programs. At NYLF: Medicine, students build the confidence and skills needed to excel at college and in the workplace. They learn how to adapt to and communicate in new situations, to new challenges, and with new people, which, given how rapidly the world is changing due to technology and innovation, are essential skills for success.”
For more than 35 years, Envision by WorldStrides (www.envisionexperience.com) has empowered extraordinary students to become their best selves through programs that enable them to discover their passion, explore a career and positively impact their world. In 2018, Envision became part of the WorldStrides family. The largest provider of educational travel and experiences in the United States, WorldStrides works with more than 50,000 educators each year to help more than 550,000 students see the world — and themselves — in new ways.
