Health Sciences Summer Experience opens pathways to careers in health care
For some GEAR UP Iowa students, a recent week at the University of Iowa offered more than a glimpse of college life. It provided an opportunity to explore health sciences careers, connect with professionals and mentors and begin thinking more intentionally about what their futures could look like with a career in health care.
The University of Iowa Health Sciences Summer Experience brought 69 rising 10th-graders from 16 GEAR UP Iowa partner schools to the Iowa City campus for a week-long residential experience designed to introduce students to the many career paths available in health care.
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“It's exciting to see this camp grow from those early conversations among the planning team, when we had the opportunity to build this experience from the ground up, into a week-long camp that has truly impacted the lives of our students” said GEAR UP Iowa Coordinator Amber Miller. “To see what started as an idea become something so meaningful is really special.”
The program was offered in partnership with GEAR UP Iowa and the University of Iowa at no cost to students as travel, on-campus housing, meals, activities and one college credit for participating students were included.
The students are part of the GEAR UP Iowa 3.0 cohort, a seven-year initiative that supports approximately 7,500 students in the class of 2029 from 13 partner school districts. Funded by a $25.8 million federal grant, the program provides academic assistance, career exploration and resources to students through their high school graduation and into their first year of postsecondary education or training.
GEAR UP stands for Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs and is a federally funded program. In partnership with local school districts, the program aims to assist students most in need of support in preparing, enrolling and persisting through postsecondary education.
While many students may initially associate health care with doctors and nurses, the experience helped broaden that perspective and change perceptions about possible career pathways in the field.
“I learned about different careers that I thought were really good that were more than just doctors and nurses,” said Grace Wadey, a 10th grader at South Tama County High School. “There were a lot of careers that I found that I never really thought of, but I could see myself doing.”
Students engaged with faculty and advisors and participated in hands-on learning opportunities at six different colleges at the University of Iowa to expand their understanding of the number of careers available under the health care umbrella.
Those included sessions with the Carver College of Medicine, the College of Dentistry, the College of Pharmacy, the College of Public Health, the College of Nursing and the Roy J. Carver Department of Biomedical Engineering within the College of Engineering.
“I learned that there were more careers than I thought there were in health care,” said Hoover High School sophomore Beatrix Spies. “For example, I learned about nuclear pharmacy and genetic counseling and other fields I've never heard of before.”
At each visit throughout the week, students participated in interactive sessions led by faculty and staff. Activities included public health stations focused on infectious disease, prevention, behavioral health, health policy, and environmental and occupational health. Pharmacy students created lip balm during a compounding lab and explored different pharmacy careers. Dentistry activities allowed students to learn about dental impressions, plaque and mouth molds. For many students, these sessions connected them with the professions they’ve interacted with during the course of their health care as patients.
“When we went to the College of Medicine, we did a cast-splint,” Orion Armstrong said of the exercise where students examined a wrist injury and applied splints to each other as patients. “I thought that was really cool. A couple of years ago, I kept getting hurt with ankle injuries and went through a lot of exams. So I’ve been thinking about becoming a physical therapist and helping people who are hurt and can't do certain things get back to where they can do those things.”
Biomedical engineering sessions explored biomaterials and students made hydrogels, which are soft, water-absorbing networks made of polymer chains commonly used for wound dressings. Prospective nursing students rotated through skill stations that included dressing changes, CPR, personal protective equipment and simulated patient-care technology.
The program also gave students a realistic understanding of the education and preparation required for health careers.
“It’s a big chunk of your life, but I think the time’s worth it for what you want to do,” Orion, who attends South Tama High School, said.
Some students may have been alarmed at the time and training needed to pursue some of the more specialized roles. However, many had their eyes opened to how attainable these careers are and the wide range of opportunities, all with varying degrees of training required.
College-readiness sessions covered time management, organization, study strategies, goal setting, self-motivation and well-being. Students also created personalized career roadmaps that connected high school coursework, leadership and service opportunities, career exploration and college and training preparation.
“They told me so much about the career and what I should be doing in high school and what classes to take,” said Jack Kaiser, a 10th grader at Centerville High School. “It helped me with just knowing where to go from now, because I'm pretty young. I'm a freshman going into sophomore year, so there's still a lot before I go to college, and this definitely helped me plan that out.”
Just as important as the career exploration and attainability of these careers was the opportunity to experience college life firsthand in an on-campus setting.
Students lived in residence halls, ate in dining facilities, explored campus and participated in evening activities alongside University of Iowa students serving as mentors and guides. For many of them, it was the first time setting foot on a college campus. While many were nervous about the experience, those anxieties soon faded as they grew comfortable in their surroundings and could envision a future for themselves on a college campus.
“I just think it was such a great experience to get kind of used to the dorms, the dining halls and get your idea of what college is going to be like,” Beatrix said.
In that environment, students also forged friendships and bonds with other GEAR UP Iowa students and their mentors as they worked together to explore their future and imagine their potential. Beatrix expressed that she didn’t know anyone else at the camp but that she left the week with new contacts and full group chats of others across the state navigating the same challenges while supporting and encouraging each other.
Those relationships were also fostered by a capstone project where small groups tackled real-world health topics connected to community needs in Iowa. Students examined who is affected by a health issue, why it matters and which health careers could help address it before developing a potential solution or community takeaway.
Even if students left the camp not necessarily knowing exactly what career they will pursue, the week provided them with more possibilities to consider, more information to guide their decisions and a clearer understanding of the opportunities available to them in health care.
“After this, I definitely want to go into a health care career now,” Grace said. “It was amazing.”
While this cohort of GEAR UP Iowa students is still three years away from those decisions, the combination of exposure, mentorship and hands-on experience from the University of Iowa Health Sciences Summer Experience can help turn a dream about their future into a plan they can begin working toward today.
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