Reflections from three current students about their summer experiences at pre-college programs:

Marcus Cunningham (class of 2020), Wayne State C2 Pipeline

While at the c2 Pipeline Warriors Experience I had a vast amount of interaction with internal medicine and with those who actually teach and practice it. When you first register for the program you choose your “track” which will decide the curriculum you’ll be learning while at the experience, you have six choices: Medicine, Pharmacy, Nursing, Dentistry, Social Work, and Engineering.

Your daily schedule includes teachings within your track, a college 101 class, and free time. The goal by the end of the camp is to apply what you’ve learned in your tracks in a 6-man group presentation about how to fight, prevent, stop, and/or manage diabetes. The top 3 groups all earn renewable scholarships to Wayne State University. (I believe it was $2500 for first place, $1500 for 2nd, and $750 for 3rd)

While there I had both great educational and social growth. While the majority of things covered in the medicine track were covered in AP Biology and Anatomy and Physiology, there were parts of medicine that I hadn’t even thought about, we learned about proper bedside manner and how professionals in the field have to make the decision whether someone’s going to make it or not. But socially I learned more, obviously coming from a black family certain social norms just flowed while I was down there, but growing up in BPS Schools doesn’t prepare you for the people that you can encounter. While I was able to socialize well with the other students there, I could tell that I wasn’t relating to them in every aspect. Most of the kids came from lower-income schools and cities, so I think anybody who has attended BPS would be a good fit for this program just due to the social growth that can take place while at the camp.

Kyla Hurns (Class of 2020), Bank of America 2019 Student Leaders Program

As appeared in the Oakland Press, August 4, 2019

“I want to learn more about leading and guiding large groups of people to accomplish one central goal,” she said.
Hurns of Southfield spent the summer at a paid internship with Focus:HOPE in Detroit, where she worked in the organization’s food, early childhood education and community-building programs. She also joined more than 200 other student leaders from across the nation in a week-long Leadership Summit in Washington D.C. There, she met with Michigan Senator Debbie Stabenow and Rep. Justin Amash and participated in a service learning project with the American Red Cross.
In school, Hurns has been class president of the Student Congress, Minority Student Achievement Network leader and an executive member of the Model United Nations. She is an avid volunteer, having participated in Habitat for Humanity and African Americans Changing Tomorrow.
Bank of America’s Student Leaders Program gives young people who are passionate about improving the community an opportunity to build their workforce and leadership skills. During their internships, student leaders also work with Bank of America volunteers to develop better money habits to increase their financial management skills.

Nia Kepes (Class of 2020), Oakland University Future Physicians

The last week after school was over and I was back in school by choice. However, this school was fascinating, constantly engaging, and fun! This summer for the last two weeks of June I attended the Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine Future Physicians Summer Enrichment Program. Yes, the experience did live up to the long name. 

The first morning I went in knowing but one other girl and I took a seat at the team 1 table. This team would end up becoming some of my closest and coolest friends. We spent two weeks Monday through Friday from 9-5  learning from medical school professors. We learned about neuroscience, microbiology, pharmacology, ethics, and the list goes on and on. 

Meanwhile, we were tasked with picking a topic related to obesity, researching it, creating an infographic, and a presentation. My team studied obesity and it’s associated medical conditions. For example, I studied obstructive sleep apnea and how it is not only a medical condition that can be caused by obesity but it can also lead to obesity.  

During the second week we also got to first visit the medical school cadaver lab and learn kinesthetically about brain biology while holding a human brain and cystic fibrosis and emphysema while holding human lungs. Then we visited the science lab and watched micro-organisms under a microscope. Lastly, we took a field trip to Beaumont Auburn Hills and learned about CPR and taking blood pressure, we got to use otoscopes to look in each other's ears and eyes, and we met the thousand dollar dummies used to simulate medical situations and test medical students on their abilities to respond. 

I not only learned a lot about being a future physician, but I learned about college and medical school, gained new friends and got to spend two weeks around like-minded peers and amazing professors.