Apprenticeship program under way
by Chris WestPublic Relations
This summer a group of 17 high school students and recent graduates will not spend their break at the beach or camp or simply lounging around. Instead they will work on campus as part of the Office of Diversity’s Health Science Apprenticeship Program.
From
left are: Al Cheek, Patrice Worthy, Gabriela Garcia, Ryan Brown, Allison
Tolbert, Rayvin Guyton, Jason Powell, Marla Singleton, Charity Weston,
Ed Jones and Megan Knight.
The program is reserved for high school students and recent high school graduates who desire to pursue a career in biomedical science and health care professions.
Criterion for eligibility are that applicants must be 16, must maintain a “B” average in mathematics, science and English and must be an underrepresented or disadvantaged high school student who has an interest in a biomedical or health care profession. Selections are also made according to volunteerism, public service records and high school transcripts. A written essay is also required with their program application.
Upon acceptance, students are then paired with a preceptor within their department of interest and will work in various laboratory and clinical settings throughout the campus.
A typical day for the students begins at 8:30 a.m. They work within their preceptor’s department on various research projects until 12:30 p.m. when they break for lunch. Lunch is taken until 1:20 p.m. and then the group meets together where classes are held on various topics. These include a learning strategies class and math strengthening class taught by Al Cheek, academic support coordinator for diversity and Academic Magnet High School math teacher. A writing lab class is scheduled twice a week with Shannon Slaughter, Ph.D. and Tom Smith, Ph.D. The afternoon classes are held until 3:30 and then the students are done for the day.
On Fridays, area health care professionals address the group on a variety of topics relative to their area of work. The Friday sessions have seen a host of speakers including MEDUCARE, the Association of Black Health Professionals, the Physicians Assistant Program, trauma nurses and dentistry.
While this may sound more like a summer school session than an apprenticeship, students are paid $6 an hour for up to 30 hours per week for their time invested. But the students must maintain a written journal of their daily activities and upon completion of the apprenticeship, they must give a 10 minute presentation on the specific research project that they were a part of and a paper to their preceptor regarding their Summer work experience.
The apprenticeship began as a program called Academic Enrichment and was funded by a National Institute of Health (NIH) grant from 1976 to 1985. The name was then changed to the High School Research Apprenticeship Program from 1985 until 1993 with funding still coming from the NIH.
The university took over funding in 1993 and has remained the contributor to the program until present. The name was again changed to its present title, the Health Science Apprenticeship Program.
Participating in this year’s apprenticeship program are: Ryan Brown, Department of Anesthesia, under Napoleon Burt, M.D.; Millicent Cohen, Department of Pediatrics, under Carol Wagner, M.D.; Rachel Ely, Physician’s Assistant program, under Chris Stephanoff; Deon Flowers, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, under Philippe Arnaud, M.D., Ph.D.; Gabriela Garcia, Dentistry Laboratory, under Jim Peyton; Rayvin Guyton, Physical Therapy, under Lisa Saladin; Edward Jones, Epidemiology, under Dan Lackland, Ph.D.; TaMesha Jones, Endocrinology, Diabetes and Medical Genetics on “Project Sugar,” under Ida Spruill; Megan Knight, Communication Sciences and Disorders, under Gail Pashek, Ph.D.; Nasim Nesmith, OB/GYN, under Subbi Mathur, Ph.D.; Jason Powell, Department of Medicine, on the “Lighten Up” program under Mary Joan Oexmann; Brandis Singleton, Occupational Therapy, under Peter Bowman and Jerry Burik; Marla Singleton and Allison Tolbert, OB/GYN, under Susan Tate, M.D.; Harry Watley, Pharmaceutical Sciences, under Pat Meier, Ph.D.; Charity Weston, Psychiatry Research, under Elizabeth Ganaway and Patrice Worthy, Radiology, under Raymond Manigault.
The apprenticeship program began on June 12 and will run through Aug. 4. Students interested in attending next year’s program are asked to contact their high school guidance office for applications.
For further questions regarding the program, call Stella Onggako in
the Office of Diversity at 792-1466.