Diverse group of 36 students represents eight school districts, one educational service unit and 17 high schools
The first class of 36 high school students in the University of Nebraska Medical Center’s High School Alliance came to the Sorrell Center at UNMC this week for an open house. The students gathered together as a group for the first time and were able to meet their instructors, select their courses and tour the medical center. Classes will begin this fall.
The alliance will help introduce the students to health care and will hopefully provide the impetus for the students to pursue health care careers, said Bob Bartee, UNMC vice chancellor for external affairs. The students were among 80 applicants to the program and were selected through a lottery drawing.
The alliance is a partnership between UNMC, eight metropolitan area school districts and an educational service unit (ESU). The first class, representing 17 different high schools, is geographically and economically diverse, with 37 percent of the students qualifying for free-and-reduced lunch programs.
The goal of UNMC’s High School Alliance is to give high school juniors and seniors an opportunity to take college-level courses in preparation for careers in health care.
Bartee said the students will be exposed to complex scientific concepts as well as to practicing health professionals in the educational, research, and clinical settings.
The courses — specifically designed for high school students — will be taught by UNMC faculty on the UNMC campus. Some of the topics include innovation of medical technologies, medical decision making and biomedical research. Most of the courses offered in this program will be eligible for dual enrollment credit with the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO).
The Sherwood Foundation, the Omaha Public Schools and the UNMC College of Medicine Alumni Association provided funding for the alliance.
Listed below are the names of the students participating in the UNMC High School Alliance and the high schools and school districts they represent:
Arlington Public Schools
Arlington High School — Kim Gaffney
Bellevue Public Schools
Bellevue East High School — Alyssa Meyer and Stephanie Dinogan
Bellevue West High School — Leah Whitney, Alexander Clarke and Lauren Garcia
Bennington Public Schools
Bennington High School — Katherine Schrum and Ben Wichelt
Council Bluffs Community School District
Abraham Lincoln High School — Henry Black
Thomas Jefferson High School — Kelsie Skow, Miranda Ethen and Brianne Moore
Douglas County West Community Schools
Douglas County West High School — Leigha Peterson
Gretna Public Schools
Gretna High School — Caleb Guern and Danielle Spurgeon
Omaha Public Schools
Benson High School — Yoselink Pena, KaShonda Williams, Shannon Weeks, Luz Tapia and Daisy Gonzales
Bryan High School — Matt Estabrook
Burke High School — Rachel Hilt, Keely Emmack, Gregory Willcockson and Tyler Bartek
Central High School — Marquise Lindsey, Naom Margalit and Fujehat Ara
North High School — Mackenzie Wyatt
South High School — Lucia Rodriguez
Papillion-La Vista School District
Papillion-La Vista High School — Natalie Strohmeyer and Raelyn DeFalco
Papillion-La Vista South High — Courtney King
Westside Community Schools
Westside High School — Joshua Atwell, Bikash Adhikari and Melissa Laughlin
As the state’s only academic health science center, UNMC is on the leading edge of health care. Breakthroughs are possible because hard-working researchers, educators and clinicians are resolved to work together to fuel discovery. UNMC’s extramural research support now exceeds $100 million, resulting in the creation of 3,600 jobs in Nebraska. UNMC’s academic excellence is shown through its award-winning programs, and 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 and its hospital partner, The Nebraska Medical Center, have established themselves as one of the country’s leading health care centers. UNMC’s physician practice group, UNMC Physicians, includes 550 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.