Almost 50 American Indian middle school students were exposed to college life and many health career opportunities recently, thanks to professionals at Little Priest Tribal College, Wayne State College and UNMC.
Students from Winnebago and Walthill public schools and the St. Augustine Indian Mission in Winnebago attended the five-day college experience at Wayne State College from June 10-14.
Gail Thompson, director of the GEAR UP (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs) Project for Little Priest Tribal College and co-organizer of the week at Wayne, said the week’s hands-on educational activities featured career options that the American Indian students wouldn’t normally experience.
“The kids don’t have any idea what their options are, off of the reservation,” Thompson said. “If they leave the reservation, they usually go to visit their relatives. This week really made them aware of the possible options that they have.”
Roxanna Jokela, director of the UNMC Rural Health Education Network and a co-organizer of the event, said affording more opportunities to American Indians is part of UNMC’s mission to reach out to underserved populations.
“This was really a neat way for us to show the students what some of the health careers are about,” Jokela said. “I’m very grateful to the UNMC faculty who took time from their busy schedules to travel to Wayne, to share their experiences and to offer so many fun, educational activities to the students.”
In addition to providing the students with career information, the week was structured in a college-like environment. The students registered for classes, and then followed schedules that varied from day to day. Morning sessions were devoted to a variety of subjects in the arts, education and sciences, and afternoons were devoted to health professions. Students also took a morning field trip to a lake, collected samples and returned to the lab to analyze the samples.
Thompson said the students appreciated the week’s organization.
“They learned that college isn’t, ‘come over, play pool, hang out,'” Thompson said. “It’s a structured environment.”
Todd Young, Ph.D., assistant professor of physics and astronomy at Wayne State College and a co-organizer of the weeklong activities, said the willingness of Wayne State and UNMC faculty members to teach the courses helped to make the event worthwhile for the students.
“There was some terrific, very practical instruction from the professors of both universities,” Dr. Young said. “These students had a very worthwhile experience that was both fun and educational.”
Already, plans are under way for a similar educational activity next year, and other opportunities will be available to the students during the coming school year, Dr. Young said.
The health-professions courses that were taught last week, along with the UNMC faculty members who taught them, include:
Imaging of the Human Body with Radiation: The interactive session demonstrated how radiation (primarily x-rays) visualize broken bones and tumors. The students saw images of a chest, spine, abdomen and extremities. – James Temme, director, Division of Radiation Science Technology
Making Gak and Goop: This session provided hand-on activities to show how an experiment works and why it happens. Activities included making Gak, a pen cap sinker and milk jug racer, as well as freezing flowers. – Michael Dixon, graduate student, Eppley Cancer Center.
Breathe Deeply if You Can: What do doctors need to know to be able help people? This session provided activities to show how we breathe, how we hear and other fun activities. – Robert Bowman, M.D., department of family medicine, College of Medicine
A Shocking Experience: Muscles, Strength and Electricity: Students participated in hands-on activities using devices to test muscle strength and demonstrated how the electrical activity of the nervous system makes our muscles function. – Greg Karst, Ph.D., Physical Therapy Division – School of Allied health Professions.
Reebops: Students learned inheritance patterns by creating their own marshmallow creature. No two were the same. — Maurice Godfrey, Ph.D., Munroe Meyer Institute
Bones and Blood: This session provided students with a whole schmeel of activities that included how the heart pumps, pulse, blood pressure, and what bones and blood are made of. – Dani Eveloff, College of Nursing.
To walk or Not to Walk; That is the Question: This session provided hands-on activities using devises such as crutches, walkers and wheelchairs to enhance mobility. – Laura Bilek, Ph.D., Division of Physical Therapy – School of Allied Health Professions.
Be a Hero for Life with Organ Donation: This session provided students with the opportunity to see healthy and diseased organs and to learn about why people sometimes need new livers, lungs or other organs. Students also learned about the process of organ donation. — Doug Bremers, Organ Recovery Department.
The Nose Knows: What is Taste? What is flavor? This session provided hands-on, mouths-on sampling. – Maurice Godfrey, Ph.D., Munroe Meyer Institute
Modern Medicines Made With Traditional Methods: Students learned how to make cough syrup and a pill capsule. They also prepared a gel for skin application. – Sam Augustine, Pharm.D., College of Pharmacy
JUMPSTARTing a Career in Allied Health: Students explored a cool new Web site about health careers and learned how they could become someone who solves medical mysteries, explores the secret lives of cells, manages the “X” files and more. They learned what it takes to get ready for one of these exciting careers and saw what the future would hold for them as allied health professionals. – Susan Langdon, Medical Technology, School of Allied Health Professions.
What Do I Want to Be When I Grow Up? This session used use some of the “tools of the trade” to check students’ hearing, reflexes, heart and lungs. They also examined cultures, how they grow and why they grow. – Diane Landon, Physician Assistant Program, School of Allied Health Professions, and Gail Hackendahl, Physical Therapy Education, School of Allied Health Professions.
Photos in descending order: 1) Chris LaPointe, a sixth-grader at St. Augustine Indian Mission in Winnebago, tries for a good time as Gail Hackendahl of Physical Therapy Education works as the timer; 2) Pilar Aldrich, a sixth-grader at St. Augustine Indian Mission, does some taste testing in an experiment led by Maurice Godfrey, Ph.D., associate professor in the Munroe-Meyer Institute; 3) Skyler Redhorn, a sixth-grader from Winnebago, looks at his options in allied health careers on the JUMPSTART Web site as Susan Langdon of UNMC Medical Technology leads the class discussion.