Atlantic City, N.J. — One alarming statistic drives Amiesa Paasewe’s desire to work in a medical profession: Black women in the United States are nearly three times more likely to die during pregnancy or delivery than any other race.

“I want to advocate for not just Black women, but people of color and people in general who can’t speak up,” said the Health Science major from Trenton. “I just want to be an advocate for people in need, especially women. I want to be there to support mothers because a lot of mothers don’t get that support.”

The Stockton Atlantic City Summer Experience: Live Work Learn program has given the junior the opportunity to help fulfill her dream. She’s one of 256 Stockton University students in the program this summer, who have been hired by local companies, provided campus housing at Stockton Atlantic City and offered free online training to prepare for success in the workplace. Now in its third summer, the program has grown from the 130 students who participated two years ago.

This year, 18 employers — including casinos such as Bally’s Atlantic City and Ocean Casino Resort and nonprofits such as Mighty Writers and the Chelsea Economic Development Corporation — have partnered with Stockton in the program. That number is up from 15 companies last summer. The employers provide competitive wages and cover the students’ housing costs.

“We were fortunate again this year to have such a high level of interest and growth in the program — both in the number of student participants and in our employers,” said Brian K. Jackson, Stockton’s vice president for Community Engagement. “Our students are working hard this summer, contributing to the success of their employer, while also developing their professional skills and earning good wages.”

Paasewe is participating in the program for the second year as a patient care associate at AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center in Atlantic City. Associates work closely with nurses in the hospital to provide several levels of patient care — from drawing blood to giving a patient a bath or readjusting a bed.

“It’s really a fun experience. I’ve learned a lot from this job. It’s given me so much background for my upcoming career,” Paasewe said. “When you work alongside nurses and they know you want to be a nurse, they will also teach you things that they’ve learned.”

Thirty-four students are working at AtlantiCare locations in Atlantic City, Hammonton and Galloway and Egg Harbor townships in a variety of positions from business analysts to surgical specialists and social workers.

“As an anchor institution in this area, AtlantiCare is pleased to partner with Stockton to provide their students with real-world experience in health care careers and share our mission-driven approach to positively impact the broader community.” said Dennis Lennon, Chief People Officer, AtlantiCare.

Eleven of the 34 students at AtlantiCare are returning students from last year’s Live Work Learn program.

“I have two interns myself,” said Christian Ragland, AtlantiCare’s assistant vice president of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. “They came in ready to work and are proactive students who are taking initiative, finding their own direction, and creating a path that will make a lasting impact on my department. That has been great for me as I’ve been able to give them additional responsibilities that allow them to flourish.”

Jade Chow is another of the 11 returning students to AtlantiCare. She started last summer as a patient care associate, kept working during this past school year and is back part time this summer.

“It made sense for me to do it again because I wasn’t going to leave a job that I love,” said the Marlboro native.

The job fits perfectly with the Health Sciences major’s plans as she’s in a Stockton program where she can earn her bachelor’s degree after seven semesters and then a master’s degree in Physician Assistant Studies at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia.

“I wanted something with patient contact because at the end of the day I do this so I can help people. I wanted a career where I can help people,” she said.

Chow said she doesn’t mind the long 12-and-a-half hour shifts and how her time is usually at the demand of others because she’s learning how important it is for someone in the medical field to have compassion for patients.

“As long as you have compassion or empathy for people, you can just make somebody’s day,” she said. “These people are in pain, they might be agitated with you, they might even throw things at you, but as long as you are nice as you can be, you can make a person’s day. All it takes sometimes is brushing someone’s teeth. You just made their day.”

Ragland hopes all the students have similar experiences to Chow and Paasewe.

“I hope that they will not just see the opportunity from a standpoint of a job but really see how we impact the lives of people daily,” he said. “This is a great opportunity to not only build pathways to careers in health care, but it also allows us to engage the workforce of tomorrow so that we’re able to give them all the wisdom, the knowledge and understanding they need to be successful in any type of health care.”

Living for free at the beach on the Atlantic City Boardwalk has its perks. Chow said she loves that Kesselman and Parkview residential halls are walking distance to the movie theater in Ventnor, while Paasewe said she loves getting ice cream at Island Creamery, sampling Dominican food at Sabor Latinos or grabbing a funnel cake on the Boardwalk.

“Our students also add to the economic vitality of the University District and city, where they live on campus and enjoy all the city has to offer during the peak summer season,” Jackson said.

Jackson added that the future of the program is bright as student participation numbers and the number of business partners have increased every year.

“We are grateful to the employers, who see the value in engaging our students, while also exposing them to potential career opportunities in some of our largest industries in South Jersey, including hospitality, health care and nonprofits,” he said. “Going forward, we want to add additional employers and offer even more job opportunities.”

-- Story by Mark Melhorn, photos by Lizzie Nealis