Twenty-one high school juniors and seniors from throughout Nebraska participated in the 2009 Summer Health Professions Career Workshop at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.
Applications come from across the state and students were selected to learn about health sciences and the health careers that are available to them.
“We particularly like to expose the students to areas of the hospital and to discuss health professions that may not be available in their home towns,” said Lisa Jewell, director of the UNMC Youth Learning Center. “We always enjoy having the Summer Health Professions Career Workshop students here on campus. The students are the best of the best in rural Nebraska communities.”
The students who participated this year included 14 juniors and 7 seniors. Here are some of the comments they made about the workshop.
“I’ve learned about health careers that I didn’t expect I’d be interested in doing but now I am,” said Brandon Bayer, of Dodge, Neb., who said he is considering a career in pharmacy or physical therapy.
“This workshop has inspired me even more to become an emergency room nurse,” said Lacey Huber, of Grafton, Neb.
Norfolk, Neb., native Kyle Smith, who will enter his second year of medical school at UNMC this fall, came back to the workshop to chaperone. “Participating in the workshop provided me with the exposure I needed to know what to expect when I came to medical school. I was glad to be able to come back and help these kids learn about the variety of health profession careers that exist,” Smith said.
Participating Nebraska students are listed below by their hometown, year in high school, and name of high school:
Auburn – Garrett Schwindt, junior, Auburn High School
Cody – Karisa Lamle, junior, Cody-Kilgore
Coleridge – Bethany Barelman, junior, Coleridge High School
Columbus – Caitlin Molczyk, junior, Columbus High School
Creighton – Jordan Morrill, junior, Creighton Community School
Dodge – Brandon Bayer, junior, Dodge High School
Filley – Natalie Lenners, senior, Freeman Public School
Gothenburg – Zacary Franzen, senior, Gothenburg High School
Grafton – Lacey Huber, junior, Sutton Secondary
Juniata – Emma Schneider, junior, Adams-Central High School
Lincoln – Brenden Love, junior, Pius X; Kyosuke Oda, senior, Lincoln East
Norfolk – Heather Ronspies, junior, Pierce Junior/Senior High School
North Platte – Trevor Blake, junior, Maxwell Public School; Danae Schufeldt, senior, Hershey Public School; Lane Swedberg, junior, Wallace Public
Oakland – Jana Lindstrom, junior, Oakland-Craig
Paxton – AnneMarie Little, senior, Paxton Consolidated; Mattingly Perlinger, senior, Paxton Consolidated
Silver Creek – Taeler Gee, senior, Twin River High School
Spalding – Susan Bauer, junior, Spalding Academy
The 2010 Summer Health Professions Career Workshop will run from Aug. 3-6. Applications will be sent to school counselors in mid-March, and completed applications are due back to UNMC by June 1. Applicants will be notified of their acceptance by the end of June.
For further information, contact Lisa Jewell at (402) 559-6357.
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 their commitment to education, research, patient care and outreach, UNMC and its hospital partner, The Nebraska Medical Center, have established themselves as one of the country’s leading centers in cancer, transplantation biology, bioterrorism preparedness, neurodegenerative diseases, cardiovascular diseases, genetics, biomedical technology and ophthalmology. UNMC’s research funding from external sources exceeds $100 million annually and has resulted in the creation of more than 3,200 highly skilled jobs in the state. UNMC’s physician practice group, UNMC Physicians, includes 513 physicians in 50 specialties and subspecialties who practice primarily in The Nebraska Medical Center. For more information, go to UNMC’s Web site at www.unmc.edu.
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