FRESNO – Nearly 30 high school seniors in the Doctors Academy Program at Sunnyside High School in Fresno are headed to medical school. The students will participate in a day of seminars and recognition for their completion of the rigorous four-year academic preparation program with a visit to the University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine on Wednesday, April 13.
During the morning, students will take part in a yoga session intended to help college-going students relieve stress. Afterward, they will participate in a pathology lab facilitated by Joaquin Garcia, MD. Through this lab experience, students will learn about the ethical values, responsibilities, and reverence that are afforded to individuals who donate their bodies to medicine and science. In the afternoon, the students will be honored at a recognition luncheon on campus and they will hear from current medical students as part of a panel presentation.
The group will depart Fresno at 5:30 a.m. with arrival expected in San Francisco at 10 a.m., and the return trip to Fresno scheduled for 3 p.m.
This event is made possible by The California Endowment and the Fresno Sunrise Rotary Club.
The Doctors Academy, which is sponsored by the UCSF Fresno Latino Center for Medical Education and Research, is geared toward students interested in careers in the health professions. The program specifically prepares educationally disadvantaged high school students to become competitive applicants to four-year universities by providing them with a rigorous academic curriculum that includes experiences in research and clinical settings, service learning, and exposure to universities and colleges.
The Doctors Academy is now in its sixth year at Sunnyside High School. Currently, there are approximately 160 students enrolled in the program.
For more information, contact Diana Cantu, Doctors Academy program coordinator at (559) 253-6715 or email [email protected]
