Skip to main content

Pee Dee AHEC Health Careers Program Students Receive $500 Academy Scholarships

Brandon Sanders (center) listens for vital signs at the
MUSC Simulation Center
Pee Dee AHEC is proud to recognize two of its Health Careers Program (HCP) students as recipients of the 2015-2016 Health Careers Academy Senior Awards. Jabari Bruce and Brandon Sanders, both 2016 high school graduates, received the scholarships, which include a certificate and a $500 scholarship.

As students in the Health Careers Academy (HCA), a program within the Health Careers Program, both students engaged in activities to help them prepare for their futures as healthcare professionals.

Mr. Sanders began participating while in the tenth grade and said, “Even though my decision to become a general practitioner has not changed, I am now aware of all the requirements to become what I want to be. Receiving this scholarship means so much to me because as a college student, I know funds will be tight. I would like to thank the (Health Careers) Academy for choosing me.”

Mr. Bruce, who began the HCA his senior year, explained, “The program has allowed me to be more open minded to other options. There are so many other careers in the playing field that could suit you better than the one you’re thinking of pursuing, and you haven’t even been exposed to it yet. School can cost a lot of money and every little bit I can get erased makes it easier for me to achieve my goals. I am very thankful to receive this scholarship - it’s a true blessing.”

Mr. Sanders graduated valedictorian from Marion High School and will attend Claflin University to major in biology and minor in chemistry.

Mr. Bruce, an aspiring pharmacist, is a graduate of Mayo High School for Math Science and Technology. He will attend Winthrop University and major in biology.  

The Health Careers Academy, an exploratory program for high school students, is endorsed by the South Carolina Department of Education and aligned with the academic school year.

For more information, contact Pee Dee AHEC at 843-777-5343.
Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

Marchek Siblings Stay Connected With Upstate AHEC Through Academic Journey

 A pair of siblings from Greer are giving back to current Upstate AHEC Health Careers students after completing the program themselves. Alex Marchek, MD is in his first year as a family medicine resident at Prisma Health Seneca. His younger sister by two years, Anna Marchek, is a second-year medical student at Edward Via College of Medicine (VCOM) Carolinas. “My mom likes to say she did good,” Anna joked. “Both of her kids are going to be doctors. She went two-for-two.” Anna (left) and Alex (right) Marchek are pictured with Nita Donald, Executive Director of Upstate AHEC. While Alex and Anna have both chosen to pursue medicine as a career, their interest in healthcare developed differently. Alex describes his discovery of health sciences as a slow realization. “It was definitely something that was on my radar really young,” said Alex. “My parents will say when I was six years old, I was talking about doing something in medicine. I had some really great science teachers in elementar...
Read more

Pee Dee AHEC Clinical Placements Help Students See Challenges – and Opportunities – of Rural Primary Care

  Third-year medical student Omar Guerrero didn’t find his passion for a career in healthcare until he began shadowing health professionals as an undergraduate student. “I just knew that I really loved science and working with my hands,” said Guerrero, who double-majored in Public Health and Cellular & Molecular Biology while at the University of South Florida. It all clicked for him once he was able to observe physicians in their encounters with patients. “I saw there was a real need for Spanish-speaking physicians,” said Guerrero. “There’s a lot of disconnect between providers and Spanish-speaking patients and I thought that was definitely an area that I could make a difference in.” Now in his third year at A.T. Still University’s School of Osteopathic Medicine in Arizona, Guerrero is doing a clinical placement at Beaufort-Jasper-Hampton Comprehensive Health Services, Inc. in Richland. Guerrero was connected with Pee Dee AHEC and their Health Professions Student (HPS) program...
Read more

Simulation Training Prepares Students for Rural Primary Care

Since its inception in 2021, South Carolina AHEC’s Simulation Education Training (SET) has remained a favorite experience amongst health professions students statewide. Pee Dee AHEC Scholars and other health professions students pose for the camera during a simulation Since its inception in 2021, South Carolina AHEC’s Simulation Education Training (SET) has remained a favorite experience amongst health professions students statewide. SET uses simulation-based technology to expose students to clinical environments and scenarios that mirror what providers experience in rural, medically-underserved communities. “A lot of simulations are emergent or hospital-based and students are usually being graded as a formal assessment when they participate,” said SC AHEC Curriculum Coordinator Dawn Leberknight, who was heavily involved in the development of the initiative. “We tried to make [SET] more informal to expose students to simulations before it’s high stakes, and then to really focus on rura...
Read more