LOS ALAMITOS, CA — Los Alamitos High School junior Ava Swietlikowski was recently nominated by a group of teachers for the Rotary Career Technical Education (CTE) Scholarship. At a special event, Swietlikowski received recognition and a $250 scholarship because of her outstanding performance in various classes on the biomedical pathway.

However, this isn’t the first time Ava Swietlikowski has demonstrated her passion for medicine. 

As early as sixth grade, she wanted to be a cardiothoracic surgeon. But even before that, she knew she wanted to be in healthcare. When asked about why her passion led her to the human heart, Ava shared that her family likely had an influence. 

“There’s something special about [the heart] that I’m so fascinated by. It’s probably because my aunt and uncle are both anesthesiologists who specialize in cardiothoracic procedures, so ever since I was young, they would tell me all about it,” Swietlikowski said. 

As Swietlikowski’s mother specializes in trials with Alzheimer’s patients, it is safe to say that a passion for medicine certainly runs in the family.

Through a recent internship with the Medical Innovations Research Program, Swietlikowski was able to dive even more in depth into the problem-solving aspect of healthcare when she and fellow interns designed a pediatric stent that grows with patients over time.

“I was able to conduct in-depth research and innovate a new endoscopic method to pediatric cardiac stenting and present my findings to a board of Children’s Hospital of Orange County physicians,” Swietlikowski said. “I feel like this really helped me improve my attention to detail and scientific writing skills.”

Swietlikowski spent the summer of 2021 volunteering at Long Beach Memorial Hospital and fell in love with the work that she was able to do with children who have vascular and neurological trauma. 

“It started as a small program in the summer, but I really fell in love with the people I was working with… I’m the only volunteer who continued. I begged the lady to let me stay on after that summer,” she said.

As a result, Swietlikowski has spent the last two years working for the Rehab Unit and eventually the Orthopedic Surgery Unit as well. Swietlikowksi’s work there consists of entering charts, handling patient discharge, and generally running errands for the many hospital staff members. 

“If a person asks for gravy or jello, I’m the person,” Swietlikowski joked.

She shared that this experience taught her a lot about bedside manner and gave her a chance to practice speaking in Spanish with patients, which are important skills for future doctors. 

“I love working there. I love working with people. I think it’s safe to say I’ve definitely improved,” Swietlikowski said.