Community Corner
North Andover Teen Studies Medicine at Harvard
The experience has offered a glimpse into professional environments few high school students ever see.
This story was contributed by Austin Prep, a Patch Community Partner. The views shared reflect the author’s perspective and feature real experiences from the Austin Prep community.
For most high school students, a science class means textbooks, lab reports, and occasional experiments conducted under fluorescent classroom lights. For North Andover resident Jack Ellis, it means donning medical scrubs, diagnosing simulated patients, and performing robotic-assisted surgery inside Harvard Medical School.
This year, Ellis, an Austin Prep student, was selected to participate in a yearlong collaboration between Austin Prep and Harvard Medical School’s MEDscience program, now in its second year. The immersive STEM experience places up to 20 juniors and seniors annually inside emergency simulation suites used to diagnose mock patient cases. The program blends physics, biology, anatomy, artificial intelligence, and robotics, challenging students to think and act like future doctors, scientists, engineers, and innovators.
From the Classroom to the Clinic
Ellis first visited Harvard Medical School earlier this fall, unsure what to expect. The experience quickly exceeded anything he had imagined.
“I think it’s really cool that I’m able to go to Harvard and actually work there,” Ellis said. “Learning at Harvard is something that many premed college students don’t even have the opportunity to experience.”
During their initial visit, students were introduced to surgical robotics and clinical problem-solving. Working in teams, they diagnosed a simulated patient with a spinal disc injury and practiced multiple surgical approaches, including open, laparoscopic, and robotic-assisted techniques.
“It wasn’t just watching,” Ellis said. “We were actually practicing the procedures and learning how different methods work.”
Subsequent visits expanded the scope even further. Students used microscopes to stain and examine cells, learning how cancer is identified at the cellular level. Later modules introduced artificial intelligence, where students trained recognition software to distinguish tumors from healthy tissue.
Learning by Doing
What sets the MEDscience collaboration apart is its emphasis on hands-on learning. Rather than memorizing concepts, students apply physics principles through real medical challenges, from operating robotic arms to navigating spinal anatomy during surgery.
“I think I’m able to learn better when I’m able to do it physically and learn it in person instead of reading it out of a textbook,” Ellis said.
That approach has proven especially effective for Ellis, who has emerged as a leader within the program.
“Jack has taken on an almost student-teacher role,” said Amy Foley, Dean of STEM at Austin Prep. “He figures things out quickly and then goes out of his way to help others succeed.”
During one artificial intelligence module, Ellis earned a perfect score while training image-recognition software, successfully troubleshooting complex coding challenges that required annotating hundreds of images for machine learning accuracy.
Inside Harvard Medical School
Each visit to Harvard Medical School immerses students in high-pressure clinical environments designed to mirror real hospital settings. Working with professional MEDscience educators, students interview simulated patients, assess symptoms, order diagnostic tests, and develop treatment plans under time constraints.
The experience demands teamwork, clear communication, and calm decision-making, skills that extend well beyond science.
“Students quickly learn how important communication is,” Foley said. “They’re building confidence, leadership, and the ability to perform under pressure.”
Ellis said those days stand out from his regular school routine, offering experiences far removed from a typical classroom setting.
“When we go to Harvard, I’m much more excited,” he said. “You get to learn things you’d never learn if you just stayed in the classroom.”
A Broader Perspective
While Ellis does not currently plan to pursue a career in medicine, the experience has given him knowledge and skills that extend well beyond healthcare. Exposure to how the medical field operates, from diagnostics to emerging technologies, provides insight into a complex industry that touches nearly every profession.
“I don’t really see myself in healthcare,” Ellis said, “but it’s really cool to be able to observe the medical field and understand how it works.”
Later in the program, students will complete a capstone innovation project, developing a medical-technology solution and pitching it to a mock panel of venture capitalists, biotech leaders, and Harvard faculty.
“I’m interested in business in the future,” Ellis said. “This part lets you take what you’ve built and think about how it could actually work in the real world.”
Bringing It All Together
Back at Austin Prep, the learning continues between Harvard visits. Students design surgical robots, test coding models, and use advanced tools, including the Anatomage Table, a life-sized 3D anatomy visualization system, and the 3D printer suite housed in the Digital Fabrication Lab. The seamless integration of the patient cases studied at Harvard with classroom learning at Austin Prep deepens their understanding of how anatomy and physics are interconnected. Beginning next year, the course will be known as Medical Engineering and will provide participating students with laboratory credit in science, further formalizing its academic rigor.
For Foley, the transformation she sees in students like Ellis is the program’s greatest success.
“This hands-on program has been transformative in ways I’ve never seen before,” she said. “Students aren’t just learning. They’re passionate about what they’re discovering.”
For Ellis, the experience has offered a glimpse into professional environments few high school students ever see.
“It’s a fun day, but it’s also serious,” he said. “You’re learning things that actually matter.”
As the program continues, Ellis and his classmates will complete additional surgical simulations and present their final innovations at Harvard Medical School, an experience reshaping how they think about learning, leadership, and what is possible beyond the classroom.
Experience the Austin Prep Community
Learn more about hands-on experiences like the Harvard Medical School MEDscience collaboration at Austin Prep, or, complete our inquiry form to begin your Austin Prep journey.
