Ceremony Honors Hall High Students’ Efforts in Career Development Program at UAMS
| The Hall-West High School of Innovation in Little Rock hosted an April 8 ceremony to honor the achievements of more than 30 seniors who took part in a career development program offered by the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS).
These students were ninth graders in spring 2023, when UAMS and Hall High announced an initiative to provide the teens with hands-on learning opportunities and exposure to careers in health care. For the 2025-26 school year, that partnership expanded into a monthslong program that included job-shadowing events, resume-building workshops, and lessons on workplace conduct.
Shanea Nelson, Ph.D., executive director for UAMS Academic Pathways and Workforce Partnerships, which organized the program, said the students took meaningful steps toward their future careers.
“Today marks more than the conclusion of a program for these students,” she told the dozens of parents, educators, and Little Rock School District administrators in the audience. “It is the culmination of a journey, one that has challenged them to step beyond the classroom and into the world of health care with curiosity, confidence, and purpose.”
Carlton McGee, principal of Hall High, credited UAMS for developing a program that positions students to excel in their future professions.Image by Chris Carmody
Irene Perez, who plans to attend Lyon College this fall with a double major in psychology and neuroscience, said the program opened her eyes to the complexity of the health care field.
“Going to UAMS for job-shadowing, I assumed that people in nuclear medicine, sonography, and many other careers just had to push buttons to perform scans on their patients,” she said. “But I was very wrong. There’s so much that goes on behind the scenes, and every person I met at UAMS has an important role and a wealth of knowledge.”
Carlton McGee, principal of Hall High, credited UAMS for developing a program that positions students to excel in their future professions. He told the students that their future is full of possibilities, noting that they will benefit from their experiences in the program even if they ultimately decide not to pursue careers in health care.
Khi Weston is one of those students who has chosen a different path. The aspiring communications and marketing professional said she nonetheless learned many valuable lessons while shadowing health care workers at UAMS, including the value of accountability, attention to detail, and teamwork.
Khi Weston (front) embraces Hall High educator Lawanna Harris as Little Rock School District Superintendent Jermall Wright looks on.Image by Chris Carmody
“We know how much goes into building a program as strong as this one,” she said. “Thank you to everyone at UAMS for trusting us and letting us navigate your place of work with full faith that we would be good representatives not just of ourselves, but of you as well.”
Davonte Hokes, Pharm.D., MBA, a Hall High and UAMS alumnus and lead pharmacist for Kroger Health, delivered the keynote speech as the students prepare to embark on the next phase of their academic journeys.
During his time at Hall High, Hokes was a standout athlete who received scholarship offers from more than two dozen college football and baseball programs. But his plans to play in college — and his dreams of becoming a professional athlete — were shattered in 2011 when he was struck by a vehicle in the high school’s parking lot, an accident that resulted in a major knee injury.
Hokes said it took a long time for him to chart a new course, but he realized late in his second year of college that he had a passion for the pharmacy profession. He told the students that life won’t always unfold in ways that are easy or expected, but he urged them to believe in themselves and find happiness in everything they do.
“You all should be so proud of what you’ve already achieved,” he said. “Embrace the journey ahead because this is only the beginning.”