Pathways to success for science-minded teens
Saint Luke’s College of Health Sciences (SLCHS) is accepting applications for the 2018-2019 Pathways to Health and Science Education program for ninth through 12th graders interested in exploring health or research careers. It runs from September to May and awards three college credits to program graduates. There’s no cost to students.
“Apply as early as possible, as admissions are on a rolling basis, and once the program cap is reached, the application process will be closed,” says Dr. Hubert Benitez, SLCHS president and CEO.
Email notifications are already being sent to applicants who have been accepted.
The college will enroll 20 students and have a waiting list for additional interested applicants.
“Our intent is to expand to accommodate as many students as possible,” Benitez says
Applications can be downloaded on the Website, www.futurehealthsciencesstudent.org/services.html, completed and along with required documents mailed or sent as an attachment to an email to pathwayprogram@saintlukescollege.edu. The Website lists required documents.
“All applicants who fully complete and submit required materials are accepted,” Benitez says.
Pathways sessions are held at Saint Luke’s College of Health Sciences at 624 Westport Road in Kansas City, Mo., Saturdays, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.
The program has four main components. Future Health Sciences Student Academy is made up of seven student lectures and workshops led by college faculty and staff and others. Topics covered include epidemiology, open heart surgery and recovery, and the study of viruses.
Three seminars to help parents understand and navigate college life is the second component. The College-Parent Education Workshop Series’s three broad focuses are preparing children for college, life in college and college legal and sensitive issues.
“Research has shown that parental involvement is critical to success,” Benitez says.
The third component, the Student Research Initiative involves students working with a mentor to solve a problem or question in a particular interest area.
Science Fest is the final component. All eyes are on the graduates as they close their Pathways experience with a public symposium exhibiting the results of their projects.
“There are a number of bridge programs, but Pathways is unique,” Benitez says. “We facilitate integration of parents through formal programming.”
Breaking the cost barrier and one-on-one mentoring make Pathways unique, too, Benitez says. Faculty and staff teach in the Pathways program pro bono.
“They volunteer because they realize the importance of imparting knowledge, instilling in these students a sensitivity to science and health professions and the intricacies of research,” says Benitez, who spearheaded the development of Pathways shortly after taking the helm of the college in 2016.
“I’m an advocate of diversity and multiculturalism,” he says. “Pathways was something I developed true to a professional commitment – increasing diversity in education on a global scale.”
Saint Luke’s shares his focus on attracting students from minority backgrounds and increasing student diversity. The college strives to integrate students from different cultures to achieve cross-cultural training. Benitez wants to enlist students from all groups underrepresented in sciences and health professions. He conceived Pathways to create a pipeline of diverse students interested in pursuing a career in those professions.
“We’re trying to reach more men for traditionally female professions, like nursing, and more students from lower economic classes and rural communities and first-time college generations,” Benitez says.
Fifteen metro area students applied to Pathways last year; 12 were accepted, and 10 completed the program, graduating on May 19. Half were Hispanic or Latino. They were evenly divided among girls and boys. Saint Luke’s will track them into college and beyond.
Benitez is working to make Pathways permanent. He sees it as a positive legacy.
“When I became president, my wife and I committed to make a difference in the community we’re living in,” he says. “Kansas City is home now, and we’re trying to change lives through education.”
