LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Lamya Hickman is a senior at Central High School in West Louisville, with dreams of becoming a pediatrician. 

“It feels like I have big shoes to feel, but I know I can do it,” she told Spectrum News 1. 

Thursday morning, she shared about her experience in the new Pre-Medical Magnet Program, shadowing UofL physicians like Dr. Edward Miller.

“Across the country, the number of men and women that are underrepresented in medicine have remained stagnant, and it all comes down, there’s a lot of reasons behind this, but it all comes down to the key phrase, ‘If you can see it, you can be it,” said Miller. “You will never have a student from Central that says, ‘I have never seen a doctor that looks like me,’ and that is powerful.” 

The pipeline program launched in August and more than 20 Central High School students are rotating through different areas of medicine. They scrub into operating rooms, practice procedures and get a firsthand look at surgeries. 

Seeing herself represented in the field of medicine has encouraged her to pursue a health care career, Hickman said. “I’m the only one in my family who’s ever wanted to become a doctor, so it was really weird that everybody in my family, nobody’s done it before and that comes in with just being able to see people like that, like me, so I’ll be the first,” she said. 

First, Hickman said she wants to learn how to help patients, and then, come back to Central High School and inspire others in the same way.

The program also offers college credit and thousands of dollars in scholarships. It will open up to Central High School juniors later this month.