On February 2, I got to experience something amazing. Through Kent ISD, I was able to sign up for the Groundhog Shadowing Day, a day where students from schools all over Michigan had the opportunity to shadow an assortment of jobs around Grand Rapids. I was lucky enough to score one of the few spots to learn about Spectrum Health Innovations Team.

I started out the day with a rocky start getting lost in Downtown GR, which was not the best situation to be in. After asking a couple people, I found my way to 50 Louis Street, Suite 410. As I stepped out of the elevator, I was greeted with bright lights and an upbeat atmosphere. Everyone in the room looked like they were excited, yet nervous, about how the day would play out. By sitting on the end of the table and listening to all the students go around saying their name, grade, and school, I found out that 12 out of 13 were seniors in AP physics who attended Northview High School. Then there was me, the junior from FHC who walked in late. At this point, I felt like the odd one out. I quickly realized that even though I didn’t know anyone in the group, and they were all friends, they all still welcomed me with open arms. From that point on, I knew it was going to be an amazing day filled with amazing new experiences.

Spectrum Health Innovations team was lead by Lori Henry, an engineer, business analyst, and clinical innovations specialist. Henry walked us through their process plan and showed me, along with 12 other students, what it takes to be a part of the team. Their plan consists of six steps starting off with Discover. The team discovers a problem that they want to solve or an idea that they think will benefit others. The next step is Ideate, where they find an idea that they think will help solve the problem. After that, they go to the Collaborate/Assess stage, where they assess subjects that include the legal, business, and technology, along with supporting data and conducting market analyses. After that, they go into the Developing stage, where they pair the solutions with the appropriate external development to bring the solution to life. Finally, they enter the Launch stage, where they find partners and sponsors to help them conclude their project and fulfill their plans.

After this experience, I feel more comfortable about life after college. This was an amazing opportunity that I will never forget, and it was nice to be exposed to a small selection of what is out there. There were so many jobs to be done in one team, and the team that we were exposed to was a well-oiled machine. For me, I have no idea what I want to do after college or even in college, so it was great to see a small variety of the jobs out there.