Empowering Students of Promise Through Occupational Therapy Pathways

The Pathways to Promise Project (P³) is a pipeline program designed for Students of Promise in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina who are interested in pursuing careers in occupational therapy and healthcare.

Students of Promise represent historically underserved high school students with strong potential who face barriers such as economic disadvantage, limited exposure to healthcare careers, and underrepresentation in higher education pathways.

P³ is built on four core pillars:

  1. Mentorship

  2. University partnerships

  3. Early exposure to occupational therapy

  4. Meaningful family engagement

Together, these pillars create structured pathways that support students from high school into higher education and healthcare careers.

Who We Serve

P³ serves Students of Promise students with strong academic and personal potential who face systemic barriers such as limited healthcare exposure, economic disadvantage, and underrepresentation in healthcare professions.

P³ the Pathways to Promise Project serves Students of Promise: young people with the academic aptitude, personal drive, and community commitment to thrive in healthcare careers. These are students who, with the right access and support, are fully capable of transforming the occupational therapy workforce and the communities it serves.

Too often, systemic barriers not ability determine who enters healthcare professions. P³ is built to change that. We intentionally center students who have been underrepresented, under-resourced, and underestimated in traditional healthcare pipelines.

P³ operates from a foundational belief: the talent and capability needed to build a more diverse healthcare workforce already exists in our communities. What's missing is a structured, supported, culturally affirming pathway to get there.

Through community partnership with Central Piedmont Community College, we create that pathway one Student of Promise at a time.