Sixteen junior and senior high school students from the metropolitan area are on the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville campus this week to take part in the 2014 SIUE Healthcare Diversity Summer Camp.
“The primary purpose of the residential camp is to expose minority high school students to healthcare careers that are offered at SIUE,” said Dr. Lakesha Butler, clinical associate professor in the School of Pharmacy, “and provide them with valuable knowledge and skills that will aide them in becoming successful future college students.”
This marks the sixth year of SIUE offering a camp for minority students in the area of pharmacy and healthcare. In 2009, Butler was instrumental in starting a camp to introduce the field of pharmacy to minority students. In 2013, the camp was expanded to include nursing and dental medicine.
Camp participants had to demonstrate the following criteria for eligibility:
• A minimum 3.0 cumulative grade point average
• Be a rising junior or senior high school student from Madison, St. Clair or St. Louis counties
• A minimum of two years of both math and science classes
• A complete a written essay
The week-long camp began at 7 a.m. today with students checking into Bluff Hall. Throughout the day, camp students will be introduced to a variety of SIUE resources and listen to speakers from the Office of Admissions, Kimmel Student Involvement Center, the Career Development Services and Student Opportunities for Academic Results (SOAR).
The following is a schedule for the Healthcare Diversity Summer Camp for the remainder of the week:
• Tuesday – students will hear from SIUE nursing faculty and students regarding a future career in nursing and spend time in the Nursing Simulation Lab.
• Wednesday – students will travel to the SIU School of Dental Medicine in Alton to explore the career opportunities in the field of dentistry.
• Thursday – camp participants will learn about prospective careers in the field of pharmacy. In addition, students will receive hands-on CPR training.
• Friday – campers will take an ACT Preparatory Crash Course in the morning, followed by a closing ceremony sponsored by Express Scripts to culminate the camp.
“All students are able to participate in the weeklong camp free of charge due to the generous support of Walgreens. This includes all housing, meals and travel cost,” said Butler. “We are truly grateful for the continued support of our camp corporate sponsors, without them this free camp would not be possible.”
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville provides students with a high quality, affordable education that prepares them for successful careers and lives of purpose. Built on the foundation of a broad-based liberal education, and enhanced by hands-on research and real-world experiences, the academic preparation SIUE students receive equips them to thrive in the global marketplace and make our communities better places to live. Situated on 2,660 acres of beautiful woodland atop the bluffs overlooking the natural beauty of the Mississippi River’s rich bottomland and only a short drive from downtown St. Louis, the SIUE campus is home to a diverse student body of nearly 14,000.