CHOP promised to hire every one of these Philly students as medical assistants. Then it did.

Jaiona Pressley feels as if she hit the lottery.

In June, she graduated from Franklin Learning Center, a Philadelphia public school, with not just her diploma, but also credentials that qualify her as a certified medical assistant — and a guaranteed job in the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia network.

“I didn’t think I was going to get to where I wanted to be this fast,” said Pressley, who is 18, working part time at a CHOP pediatric practice, and enrolled at Community College of Philadelphia. She hopes to become a nurse eventually. “It’s pluses on top of pluses on top of pluses.”

Pressley and 14 of her fellow FLC students got hired by CHOP through a new partnership that Jessica Tkacs Way, Pressley’s former FLC teacher, hails as a model.

Tkacs Way first made a connection with Sophia Collins, a nurse and program coordinator for CHOP’s Community Nursing Advocacy Fellowship, and Kenyatta Parker, who works in human resources for the hospital. Collins made Tkacs Way a promise: CHOP would recruit, train and hire every one of FLC’s medical assistant program students who wanted to work there.

“I was dubious,” Tkacs Way said. “I have had folks make broad promises before and then take the two students with straight As. But the CHOP crew insisted they were there for Philly kids in every way.”

And CHOP made good on its promise.

Everyone who wanted to work for the health system — 15 of Tkacs Way’s 33 seniors — has been hired by CHOP. They’re now part of a six-month medical assistant fellowship program, which helps them transition from the high school setting into the professional world. The FLC students get not just CHOP’s regular onboarding, but also an extra layer of support, including mentorship and classes that feature inspiring speakers, information about career paths and more.

Though there’s a shortage of medical assistants, locally and nationally, the transition from high school to the professional world can be tough, especially for students from underserved communities who might struggle with complicated lives, Collins said. CHOP wants to show them that they have options.

“We’re really trying to be equitable and create opportunities for everyone, and give them the tools, the resources they need to succeed,” said Collins. “Through the fellowship program, we will be able to really nurture them into young professionals, and meet them where they are. It’s about giving them that extra TLC — it’s also about seeing them as the whole person, not just an employee.”

Collins and Parker met with the students at FLC before they graduated. Parker, a talent acquisition lead at CHOP, was wowed by the students, who he said were poised, mature, and “had a sense of ownership.” The duo helped the students prep resumes, talked about what an interview would be like, helped them navigate the CHOP system, and fielded questions in class, and later, by calls and texts.

“We wanted to give them the overall CHOP experience, with love,” Parker said.

Pressley loves her work at CHOP Primary Care at Cobbs Creek, where she is checking children’s height and weight, taking vitals, and working with her preceptor to learn the ins and outs of the job.

Tkacs Way said her students were “pretty much freaking out” when they heard about what CHOP was promising.

“Many of them had been patients of CHOP, and had always dreamed that they’d be able to work there one day,” Tkacs Way said. “I don’t think they think they’d pull that off as high school students.”

The career path, steady work, and benefits, including tuition reimbursement, that CHOP offers are a big part of the draw of the FLC program, said Tkacs Way. One of her students brought home a paycheck and her father told the young woman he had never seen that much money in a paycheck in his life. Tkacs Way often tells her students that if they pursue higher education, find a way to do it without loans.

Luis Lozada, another FLC grad, came to the medical field because he had his own experiences with the health-care system. A nurse was kind to him when he received a treatment his own grandfather had — but with a poor experience.

“I want to be an advocate for patients; I want to understand the whole process,” said Lozada.

Lozada is no stranger to work — he held three jobs at once at one point during school. But working at CHOP, being treated as a professional, is a revelation, he said.

“To actually have respect, to have kind people around you, it’s so refreshing,” he said. “We have money secured, there are resources to help us with our lives and our futures.”

Lozada is about to start classes in CHOP’s nursing program, but he’s thrilled he can keep working part time at CHOP’s Karabots Center while he keeps up his studies. He loves the work — the funny moments with young patients, or the patient roughly Lozada’s age who was impressed that an 18-year-old had such a good job.

“I never thought I was going to get the hang of it so quickly, but I’m learning so much,” Lozada said. “It warms my heart every day to walk in there.”