Students in the Holdrege Summer Honors Program spent five days in Omaha this summer learning about health sciences and health careers through interactive, hands-on learning opportunities at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. This year, the 10 high school students from the Holdrege area, were chaperoned by two alumni of the program.
“This year was especially fun, because our chaperones had actually attended the program themselves,” said Lisa Jewell, director of the UNMC Youth Learning Center. “We have always hoped that our programs here at the UNMC Youth Learning Center were making a difference. We are now beginning to see the fruits of our labor … students are actually finishing up their undergraduate degrees and coming back to UNMC for training as health care professionals,”
Drew Klinkebiel, a UNMC pharmacy student, attended the program in 2001 as a junior from Cambridge, Neb., and Carrie Wilcox, a UNMC medical student, attended the program in 2000 as a senior from Bertrand, Neb.
Wilcox watched the students’ faces light up during the hands-on opportunities and said it brought back memories of when she attended the program. “It was a really fun experience and it pointed me in the direction of the career I am headed in now,” Wilcox said. “It helped me open my eyes and realize it was an obtainable goal for someone from rural Nebraska to achieve.”
Klinkebiel said he volunteered as a chaperone because he wanted to give back to his community, but admits it wasn’t always easy. “As a chaperone, it was a challenge trying to balance fun and responsibility,” Klinkebiel said. “I was a friend to the students, but I also had to be a big brother to them and be responsible. I made sure they were safe and paying attention to the seminars and events.”
Jewell prefers having current UNMC students serve as chaperones. “When the learning day is over and the students have free time, the chaperones can spend time chatting with the young people and answer any questions that they may have regarding graduate school,” she said. “The chaperones are able to give the students the inside scoop on the application, interview and educational process.”
The Holdrege Summer Honors Program succeeded in encouraging Klinkebiel and Wilcox to pursue careers in the health sciences. It is their hope that this year’s students will take away the same feelings.
UNMC is the only public health science center in the state. Its educational programs are responsible for training more health professionals practicing in Nebraska than any other institution. Through its commitment to education, research, patient care and outreach, UNMC has established itself as one of the country’s leading centers in cancer, transplantation biology, bioterrorism preparedness, neurodegenerative diseases, cardiovascular diseases, genetics, biomedical technology, ophthalmology and arthritis. UNMC’s research funding from external sources is now nearly $80 million annually and has resulted in the creation of more than 2,600 highly skilled jobs in the state. UNMC’s physician practice group, UNMC Physicians, includes more than 460 physicians in 50 specialties and subspecialties. They practice primarily in The Nebraska Medical Center, UNMC’s teaching hospital. For more information, go to UNMC’s Web site at www.unmc.edu.
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