PCOM Georgia's Annual Partnership with GSMST Opens Doors For Future Healthcare Leaders

January 26, 2026

What happens when two local education institutions join forces to motivate bright high school students interested in medical training in Gwinnett County? 

The answer: a game-changing internship program.

Now in its fourth year, PCOM Georgia's internship program with the Gwinnett School of Mathematics, Science and Technology (GSMST) has allowed high school students the opportunity to receive hands-on training and education in various areas of health care.

“Our students are very interested in medical internships but given the majority are not 18 years of age yet, they are not able to work in everyday medical settings such as hospitals or clinics,” said Adam Brown, partnership coordinator at GSMST. “We have such talented students at GSMST, and we want to keep them in Gwinnett, so attracting them to PCOM Georgia is a great way to do that knowing they don't have to go far.”

PCOM Georgia's internship provides students a chance to apply what they are learning at GSMST to a real-world career setting, from practicing principles of chemistry and biology to engineering and computer skills. The program has grown to accommodate more interns every year.

Throughout the program, the interns report to the Simulation Center where they work under the mentorship of professionals such as JoAnn Willette, manager of Clinical Simulations, and Danny Opperman, interim chief of Simulation Operations. The interns conduct research, practice lab techniques, work on individual projects and finish the program with a presentation to their classmates and mentors. A standout project this year involved 3D printing medical parts, such as IV pads to use on a mannequin, giving students hands-on experience in medical device creation.

“Perhaps this internship can help students discover what they want to pursue—and just as importantly, what they don't,” said Willette, who incorporates intern activities into the simulation operations.

Some of the program's emerging leaders are GSMST seniors Tanvee Sekhda and Hannah Yim who talk to underclassmen about the opportunity available to them in their own backyard, galvanizing the next generation of STEM leaders to consider careers in medicine and technology.

Yim said this internship has helped her explore potential career paths, especially interdisciplinary work.

“Designing an IV pad and researching femur bone fractures introduced me to the idea of combining science and engineering… And that deepens my understanding on how I can help people in a different manner than I traditionally thought,” Yim shared.

With this opportunity and clarity of purpose at a young age, the internship experience also helps build a more competitive edge when a student is applying to higher education and healthcare degree programs.

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