There may be more genetic counselors in the future after a dozen Charlestown High School students spent some time at the MGH Institute learning about the field.

The visit earlier this month was part of the Charlestown Health Pathways Program — an early college initiative that partners with Harvard Medical School and Bunker Hill Community College (BHCC) and helps to expose students to different careers in healthcare. School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences Dean’s office has collaborated with faculty and students in the various programs to host the high school students at the MGH Institute to learn about different health professions such as physical therapy, nursing, and audiology. Students will learn about occupational therapy and speech-language pathology in April and May.

Term lecturers Kaleigh Yirrell and Karina Franca, who are both clinical cancer genetic counselors at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, spoke to the students about the genetic counseling profession, their journeys to the field, what a genetic counseling session might look like, and how to become a genetic counselor.

“It is such a rewarding experience to share about the field of genetic counseling, as many do not know about it,” said Franca, who started as an Institute term lecturer last fall. “Our favorite part was working with the students as they practiced drawing their own family tree/pedigree, after we reviewed an example one as a group. This was a nice way to make it a more personalized activity.”