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HBCU summer program advances 19 students

by Ashley Farley
Public Relations
Nineteen undergraduate students from historically black colleges and universities in South Carolina completed the second year of MUSC's three-year summer program to promote careers in biomedical science and the health care professions.

Designed to attract minorities, the program works closely with the historically black academic institutions, HBCUs as they are called, whose main objective is to educate African Americans.

“We're very happy the program continues to be a success. I think the program will play a big role in the pipeline of African-American students who are interested in MUSC to receive their health care professional training,” said Thaddeus J. Bell, M.D., director of university diversity. “We hope to be in a position to continue the program next year as this year has proven to be a huge success.”

“I’m absolutely pleased with the program,” said student program coordinator Stella Onggako. “The students are enthusiastic, and I'm pleased to see them so motivated.” Students selected for the program said they found it to be challenging and said it exceeded their expectations.

Sponsored by the university's Office of Diversity, the S.C. HBCU summer program started in June of 2000. The program lasts eight weeks and is offered to 12 new students each summer.

Participants in the summer program includes two students from each of the six colleges (Allen University, Benedict College, Claflin College, Morris College, SC State University and Voorhees College). Students selected must be undergraduate minorities with a GPA of 3.5 and an SAT score of at least 900. Students must also commit to the program for three consecutive years.

Each year, during the first session of the program, they select the science or math class at the College of Charleston in which they have an interest. In the second session, students take undergraduate classes at MUSC such as medical terminology, biostatistics, medical rhetoric, and health data analysis. The second year, the students are assigned to a mentor to shadow in the field of their interest. The last year is more research based and also includes mock interviews and test preparation for exams such as the MCAT, DAT, and GRE.

HBCU summer program students are compensated for living expenses including food, board, and tuition. While strengthening their academics and motivation, this program may also influence many of these students career choices.