More than 25 undergraduate students and their faculty advisors representing the University of Nebraska Medical Center’s Public Health Early Admissions Student Track (PHEAST) pipeline program were on campus Friday for combined visit and open house events at the UNMC College of Public Health.
Every fall, students from PHEAST partner institutions, Chadron State College (CSC), Peru State College (PSC), and Wayne State College (WSC), and the University of Nebraska at Kearney (UNK), visit UNMC to learn about careers in public health. PHEAST is designed to recruit, educate and graduate passionate public health leaders committed to improving population health outcomes in Nebraska.
Students learned about the multidisciplinary nature and vast number of career opportunities available in public health, how to navigate the graduate school application process, housing, student life as well as how to succeed at UNMC. Health professions advisors reviewed essential information so they can provide better academic advice to students interested in pursuing a career in public health.
Sonja Tutsch, education and outreach program manager with the Rural Health Education Network, which hosted a portion of the day’s events, said she was delighted to see a growing interest and representation of students from rural areas of the state.
“With rapidly rising rates of chronic disease and unintentional injuries that contribute to disability and premature death, it is critical that we train and return public health professionals to rural underserved communities,” Tutsch said.
PHEAST began in 2011 and is an offshoot of UNMC’s Rural Health Opportunities Program (RHOP), which began in 1989 to address the special needs of rural Nebraska by encouraging rural residents to pursue health care careers. If selected, students obtain early admission into participating UNMC programs upon completion of their studies at the four academic institutions.
This year for the second time, the PHEAST fall visit was combined with the COPH annual open house, which drew about 80 people who are interested in public health careers.
Students enrolled in the PHEAST program are listed below in alphabetical order by hometown, name and school.
Curtis – Grayce Jorgensen, CSC
Douglas – Jessica Hicks, WSC
Hemingford – Ashleigh Galles, UNK
Papillion – Meghan Krajicek, WSC
Scribner – Makayla Nemecek, UNK
Sterling – Derek Julian, PSC
Students exploring public health educational opportunities are listed below in alphabetical order by hometown, name and school.
Battle Creek – Bridget Henn, UNK
Chadron – Elizabeth Kirbey, CSC
Ewing – Sarah Hawk, UNK
Franklin – Kaitlynn Detlefsen, PSC
Holdrege – Katie Reed, CSC
Norfolk – Daniel Meyer, WSC
Peru – Christabell Lyein, PSC
Sutherland – Malinda Foster, PSC
Valley – Carley Cortez, PSC
Out-of-state
Rock Port, Mo. – Emily Bremer, PSC
Ethiopia – Lelisse Umeta, CSC
Glyndon, Minn. – Sadie Sheppard, CSC
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