Sixty-five members of the UNMC High School Alliance are among the students taking classes at UNMC this academic year.
The students come from high schools around Omaha and take college-level classes to prepare for health careers.
Today we meet:
- Name: Keyla Deal
- High school: Thomas Jefferson High School in Council Bluffs
- Year: Senior
How did you learn about the UNMC High School Alliance?
I first heard about the program through a school-related summer program. I got to learn about the different jobs that Nebraska Medicine has to offer, and one of the days I was there, we got to hear from a student who did the UNMC High School Alliance program herself. After getting to be on campus and hearing all that UNMC had to offer, I could not wait to sign up for this program.
What sparked your interest in science?
As a child, I grew up watching my mom work as a certified nursing assistant (CNA). I knew from the start that is what I wanted to do — not being a CNA specifically, but getting to help people and study health science. Now that I am older and have had many chances to look at different careers in health science, I am all the more excited.
What are your career aspirations?
I hope that after high school I can attend the College of Saint Mary’s physician assistant program and become a physician assistant. Maybe one day, I can even work at Nebraska Medicine helping people in any way that I can.
List your three favorite things about the UNMC High School Alliance experience so far:
- I love that we get to do so much job shadowing because it helps us choose our field of interest or specialty.
- I also like that there are so many friendly people and how many friends that I have made within the last few weeks.
- I love the hands-on experience that we get in labs.