Silver Cross Hospital’s Leslie Newbon Helps Students Get a First-Hand Look at Hospital Careers

Dr. Natalie Coleman, CEO of the After the Peanut Foundation, started a program this year designed to help high school students get a better picture of college plans. 

Called STEAM CEO, the program adds on to After the Peanut’s STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and math) efforts to expose young students to those careers at an early age. The CEO part hints at future workshops on entrepreneurship, Coleman said.

Coleman knew exactly who she should contact to set up an on-site tour of a world-class health system: Leslie Newbon, Manager of Marketing & Community Relations at Silver Cross Hospital  in New Lenox. Newbon, who oversees the hospital’s Healthy Community Commission, was a recent recipient of After the Peanut’s STEAM Innovation Corporate Award this past spring. 

Inspired by George Washington Carver, After the Peanut was created in 2014 to use education as a way to transform communities by increasing equity in K-12 STEAM education. Coleman started the foundation in 2017. 

“We wanted to start the new program with groups we already have worked with,” Coleman said. “We had been to Exxon-Mobil, and we will be going to the new Will County Coroner’s Office. Leslie set up an excellent tour at Silver Cross. And the speakers were great.” 

Newbon said she asked the speakers for a particular reason. 

“Usually, when people think of hospitals, they think of doctors and nurses,” she said. “But I wanted to show the students there are other opportunities at hospitals as well.” 

The speakers included Marlon Burns, Director of Technical and Infrastructure Services; Tony Wilson, General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer; Dana Bradley, Vice President of Human Resources; and Safwan Quaiser, a Bio Medical Engineering Technician. 

Newbon said she asked Burns because IT is such a strong career field; Bradley because she would be familiar with all departments in the hospital; and Quaiser, who could explain much of the medical equipment frequently used in the hospital, such as an EKG monitor. 

“I brought up the recent story of LeBron James’ young son having a heart attack,” Coleman said. “And that this would have been one of the first devices they used to help determine what happened.” 

But both Coleman and Newbon said it was Wilson who stole the show; and not necessarily because the students were interested in law.

 “Tony started out as a nurse,” Coleman said. “And he also took some parts from unused gym equipment from his home and built a device that received a patent. I thought that was really cool.” 

Newbon said she asked Wilson to participate just for that reason. “I wanted to show the students that it’s OK to not stay in one job but change as you evolve as a person.” 

Or, as Coleman put it: 

“You can have a job, but still hold on to your passion, and make something of that also.” 

For more information about Silver Cross Hospital, visit www.silvercross.org