A future crop of researchers, therapists and doctors are getting a glimpse at career options housed at the Munroe-Meyer Institute.
Career Exploration Camp, a five-day program for high schoolers, offered a “day in the life”-style look at each of MMI’s program areas.
The camp, in its fourth year, is a way to expose students to different professions in the health and science fields, said Maurice Godfrey, PhD, professor at MMI. The program is funded by the National Institutes of Health.
“Students know the professions of their parents and their parents’ friends. In health care, they know doctors and nurses,” Dr. Godfrey said. “These programs are designed to open up opportunities and provide novel career paths that students may not have known existed.”
The collaboration from MMI faculty and staff are key to making the program a success, Dr. Godfrey said.
Over the course of the week, the seven participants met with representatives from different MMI departments, including severe behavior, speech-language pathology, psychology, occupational therapy, recreation therapy, neurodevelopmental disorders, pediatric feeding disorders and genetic medicine, as well as the University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities.
“They get a snippet of what people do in these professions,” Dr. Godfrey said. “It’s a great program. The idea is to diversify the workplace.”
Participants also got a glimpse into MMI’s history and a full tour of the building.
“This is great exposure for them to learn something new,” said Shrawan Kumar, PhD, who led the session with Dr. Godfrey.
On the first day, participants introduced themselves and shared their early career goals. Some wanted to be therapists, doctors and surgeons.
They were encouraged to be active participants during the week.
“Their eyes are opened up to the possibilities,” Dr. Godfrey said.
He added that he enjoys the experience of sharing the many paths of health care and science with students.
“In the lab, gratification comes when you have some kind of discovery or a great experiment. But now, almost every time you work with a student, there’s gratification because you’ve opened their eyes to something new.”