After attending a summer program at UNC-Chapel Hill, Hogan Linzy has solidified his desire to become a doctor.

“Watching the open heart surgery, not getting an upset stomach and being OK watching it, I was like ‘Well, if I’m not getting queasy watching that then I can do this,” he said.

Linzy, a Lafayette High School sophomore, attended the National Youth Leadership Forum on Medicine, a summer program for students who are interested in entering the medical field and want the opportunity to take part in site visits to some of the nation’s best medical schools, take an interactive role in the study and practice of medicine and meet and interact with leading physicians and medical students.

The program also pairs participants with graduate students who can teach them how to successfully navigate the medical school application process and explain what they can expect during their first year of residency or from the Match program.

Linzy, who attended the nineday program at North Carolina-Chapel Hill, said talking with leaders of the program also helped solidify his desire to become a doctor.

“Listening to talks about the medical school process (helped, too.),” he said. “I didn’t know if I wanted to be in school for that long so I listened to all of the faculty advisors giving their input on it so I was like ‘It’s not that bad.’ That reassured me that I wanted to do this.”

Watching the open-heart surgery was one of Linzy’s favorite parts of the program, as the doctor who performed it came to Chapel Hill and walked students through the surgery as it happened. Linzy also enjoyed watching a hysterectomy and an autopsy, learning how to do sutures, and visiting Wake Forest Medical School, where he was given the chance to hold a human brain.

Linzy has wanted to be a doctor since he was little and hopes to one day become an orthopedic surgeon or anesthesiologist.

“I’ve been interested in it forever,” he said. “The adrenaline rush that goes with it, in the operating room when it’s all on you. It brings out the best in me. That’s what I love to do.” Linzy may attend an Advanced NYLF on Medicine in Baltimore next summer and recommends the program to anyone who is nominated.

“It’s a great experience,” he said. “You learn so much and I made great friends that I talk to every day now. It’s just a great experience all around.”